Dating a firefighter
Advice, help, vent about your experience with dating a widow or widower
2016.07.29 13:13 Advice, help, vent about your experience with dating a widow or widower
This forum is for those dating or in a relationship with a widow or widower. If you haven't been in this situation, you can only speculate, and speculation hurts and invalidates. Dating someone who lost their significant other is difficult until you learn how to maneuver the situation. It doesn't start great and settle in. It starts off shaky and gets better with time. Find the help you need here, from others in the same situation.
2019.02.27 09:22 rainisthelife The Female Dating Strategy
Join the official website at www.thefemaledatingstrategy.com for more FDS content beyond Reddit. The only dating subreddit exclusively for women! We focus on effective dating strategies for women who want to take control of their dating lives. Follow FDS on social media and join the official website at www.thefemaledatingstrategy.com for more FDS content beyond Reddit.
2021.11.25 10:24 justbrowsingmp TrappedInADatingSim
Subreddit for Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games Is Tough for Mobs (Japanese: 乙女ゲー世界はモブに厳しい世界です, Hepburn: Otomegē Sekai wa Mobu ni Kibishii Sekai Desu) is a Japanese light novel series written by Yomu Mishima and illustrated by Monda.
2024.06.02 06:03 Opening-Solution-482 Difficulty communicating with parts
tldr:
Any advice on how I can better communicate with my parts when I can't see or hear or feel them, or use my imagination to see how they'd react to certain scenarios?
Some Background:
This is my first post on here. Like Dick Schwartz, I also have aphantasia (a blind mind's eye). So when I close my eyes and try to bring up a memory, or see a part, or even just listen to what a part is saying, it's just dark. (my mind's ear is pretty much deaf as well). After some traumatic events and deaths 20 years ago when I was in my 20s, I don't seem to have any kind of inner dialogue anymore. Memories for me, as well as thinking, are fact based and conceptual based, with some geo-spatial information as well so I can place these concepts as I think about them. After a bunch of losses in my life I'm pretty much run by my self-like Logic part and experience minimal emotions, especially since there are no access to emotional memories to pull up.
My experience to date with IFS:
I've listened to as many podcasts, and videos of Dick Schwartz that I can find, and listened to a couple of his audio books, including No Bad Parts. I struggle with the exercises because they are so visually based (e.g. trailhead exercise). I sought out an IFS therapist locally at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately she has only the basic level of training, so we went up doing a mix of modalities. Even in session I struggle with IFS work because everything is so tough when you can't see or hear with your mind to enable communication with your parts.
I've discovered that despite not being able to see or hear my parts, I get these shiver-like sensations that I'm pretty sure if what Dick describes as Self-Energy. When my therapist says something that hits home, I get this surge of tingling sensation to let me know that it did. This has been the thing that has allowed me to keep up hope that IFS can still work for me, since it is the only method of communication I get from my parts.
In therapy I've figured out I have this heavy anchor-like part that weighs me down and keeps emotions from rising to the surface. I tried using IFS Buddy and I got stuck when I got the prompt "Does it have a preference for releasing them into fire, water, or perhaps into the earth? ". How should I know if I can't see it or hear it? Other prompts within the IFS framework I struggle with are things like "How old does it think you are?" or really anything that is like "What does your part say about X?".
Is everything parts-related?:
The map of my "obvious" parts to date is as follows:
1) Protector part that keeps my emotions from surfacing 2) Exile part that holds the pain of various deaths in the family, including my brother 3) Firefighter part that used to go to pornography (before I met my wife) / goes to emotional eating whenever I start to thaw out emotionally and start feeling emotions
The map of my "covert" parts I have a suspicion might exist, but I can't detect them:
After I accidently saw a horror movie scene as a child and couldn't get images out of my head, I suspect my system created the following "covert" parts, which I have no way to prove they are there since I can't detect them: 1) Protector part that blocks visual memories so that horrific memories don't get "stuck in my head" and terrorize me. This acts in a blunt way that mostly blocks my audio memories as well 2) Protector part that blocks visual thinking (ie makes me have aphantasia) so that others can't describe horrific images and they get stuck in my head and terrorize me
Given these hidden parts, it would really help if I could have a way to communicate with my parts like most of the people doing IFS.
My question:
Any advice on how I can better communicate with my parts when I can't see or hear or feel them? Besides thinking/saying/hearing things and having the entire system react with Self-Energy, I don't know how I can improve the communication with my parts and make faster progress with IFS.
submitted by Opening-Solution-482 to InternalFamilySystems [link] [comments]
Any advice on how I can better communicate with my parts when I can't see or hear or feel them, or use my imagination to see how they'd react to certain scenarios?
Some Background:
This is my first post on here. Like Dick Schwartz, I also have aphantasia (a blind mind's eye). So when I close my eyes and try to bring up a memory, or see a part, or even just listen to what a part is saying, it's just dark. (my mind's ear is pretty much deaf as well). After some traumatic events and deaths 20 years ago when I was in my 20s, I don't seem to have any kind of inner dialogue anymore. Memories for me, as well as thinking, are fact based and conceptual based, with some geo-spatial information as well so I can place these concepts as I think about them. After a bunch of losses in my life I'm pretty much run by my self-like Logic part and experience minimal emotions, especially since there are no access to emotional memories to pull up.
My experience to date with IFS:
I've listened to as many podcasts, and videos of Dick Schwartz that I can find, and listened to a couple of his audio books, including No Bad Parts. I struggle with the exercises because they are so visually based (e.g. trailhead exercise). I sought out an IFS therapist locally at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately she has only the basic level of training, so we went up doing a mix of modalities. Even in session I struggle with IFS work because everything is so tough when you can't see or hear with your mind to enable communication with your parts.
I've discovered that despite not being able to see or hear my parts, I get these shiver-like sensations that I'm pretty sure if what Dick describes as Self-Energy. When my therapist says something that hits home, I get this surge of tingling sensation to let me know that it did. This has been the thing that has allowed me to keep up hope that IFS can still work for me, since it is the only method of communication I get from my parts.
In therapy I've figured out I have this heavy anchor-like part that weighs me down and keeps emotions from rising to the surface. I tried using IFS Buddy and I got stuck when I got the prompt "Does it have a preference for releasing them into fire, water, or perhaps into the earth? ". How should I know if I can't see it or hear it? Other prompts within the IFS framework I struggle with are things like "How old does it think you are?" or really anything that is like "What does your part say about X?".
Is everything parts-related?:
The map of my "obvious" parts to date is as follows:
1) Protector part that keeps my emotions from surfacing 2) Exile part that holds the pain of various deaths in the family, including my brother 3) Firefighter part that used to go to pornography (before I met my wife) / goes to emotional eating whenever I start to thaw out emotionally and start feeling emotions
The map of my "covert" parts I have a suspicion might exist, but I can't detect them:
After I accidently saw a horror movie scene as a child and couldn't get images out of my head, I suspect my system created the following "covert" parts, which I have no way to prove they are there since I can't detect them: 1) Protector part that blocks visual memories so that horrific memories don't get "stuck in my head" and terrorize me. This acts in a blunt way that mostly blocks my audio memories as well 2) Protector part that blocks visual thinking (ie makes me have aphantasia) so that others can't describe horrific images and they get stuck in my head and terrorize me
Given these hidden parts, it would really help if I could have a way to communicate with my parts like most of the people doing IFS.
My question:
Any advice on how I can better communicate with my parts when I can't see or hear or feel them? Besides thinking/saying/hearing things and having the entire system react with Self-Energy, I don't know how I can improve the communication with my parts and make faster progress with IFS.
2024.06.02 01:20 Electrical-Big-3755 My boyfriend and I met some new friends at the beach
My(27f) boyfriend(23m) and I have been together for 3 years. We met in April 2021 and we went out on our first date 3 years ago today. It was really nice out today so we went to the beach. We were relaxing together. I was leaning on him and my head was on his shoulder and he had his arm around me. This older couple (maybe mid-late 50s) came up to us and told us that we were a really beautiful couple. We talked for a while and we learned that they've been together for 31 years and today is their 29th wedding anniversary.
We invited them to join us for a meal at the Cafe and they accepted. The four of us ended up talking for hours. We talked about everything. Our jobs, how they met, how my boyfriend met, interesting things my boyfriend and I see at work (I'm a firefighter and he's a construction worker. We both work at the airport), our different music tastes, everything. It was weird. They seemed like old friends even though we only met them today. My boyfriend and the husband exchanged phone numbers when we were leaving too.
We're at home now and we're relaxing and watching a movie. Today was perfect with the shining sun, spending the day with my boyfriend and meeting some new friends. My boyfriend is the best.
submitted by Electrical-Big-3755 to stories [link] [comments]
We invited them to join us for a meal at the Cafe and they accepted. The four of us ended up talking for hours. We talked about everything. Our jobs, how they met, how my boyfriend met, interesting things my boyfriend and I see at work (I'm a firefighter and he's a construction worker. We both work at the airport), our different music tastes, everything. It was weird. They seemed like old friends even though we only met them today. My boyfriend and the husband exchanged phone numbers when we were leaving too.
We're at home now and we're relaxing and watching a movie. Today was perfect with the shining sun, spending the day with my boyfriend and meeting some new friends. My boyfriend is the best.
2024.06.01 08:01 coffeechap [June 2024] General Information and Questions
Salut à tous & welcome to ParisTravelGuide
This monthly thread aims at giving basic recommendations to navigate the subreddit and Paris, and offering a general chatter space. Depending on the (inter)national news, we may inform you on impacting events here (strikes,threats, global cultural or sport events..)
Same rule applies as in the rest of the sub, post topics regarding Paris and its surroundings only please.
Bref, chit-chat mode is on in the comments!
This thread is automatically archived and regenerated every first day of the month at 8am (Paris Time) - Archives
submitted by coffeechap to ParisTravelGuide [link] [comments]
This monthly thread aims at giving basic recommendations to navigate the subreddit and Paris, and offering a general chatter space. Depending on the (inter)national news, we may inform you on impacting events here (strikes,threats, global cultural or sport events..)
USING THE SUBREDDIT
- Browse the menus (on desktop or mobile app) to access:
- Wiki
- Rules (NB: rule-breaking contents can lead to a content lock, removal, or if needed a user ban)
- Monthly threads Archive
- Access some featured contents directly
- Parisians, why do you think first-time visitors will be disappointed in the city?", courtesy of u/huukat ;)
- Ideas for a less-touristy Paris
- Oddities and dive bars
- Activities with kids/young teens
- Activities with a baby/small kid
- What to do when it rains in Paris? (quality advice not guaranteed)
- Tips for first-timers
- Most discussed recent trip reports
- Traditional dishes from Paris and French regions
- Where to eat hearty traditional cuisine
- Search the sub archive to check if your question has already been answered:
- by using the Search Reddit field on top of the page (make sure to type ParisTravelGuide before your search term in the search field): search with "Louvre". NB: while really not user-friendly, you can even make more sophisticated searches How to search on Reddit)
- by clicking on the flairs of the existing posts (category labels): filter with the "🏛 Louvre" flair
HANDLING THE BASICS OF PARIS
- General understanding
- Wikivoyage for Paris (en): an external wiki covering various aspects of the city from a touristic point of view
- Paris Voice (en) life in Paris seen by the English speaking community
- Anglo Info Paris (en), same with a lot of practical info, to settle or as a tourist, also general info for France
- Accommodations
- Increase of the tourist tax for 2024: read carefully to avoid any bad surprises, especially for non-classified hotels that can apparently charge as if they were palaces due to a loop-hole.
- Public transport
- Read the dedicated section in our wiki Transports (en) / Transports (fr)
- Taxis
- public: G7 (en) is the only company recognized as public taxis in Paris. It applies fixed fares for travels between the two main airports (CDG and ORLY) and the two sides of the city (left bank / right bank of the Seine river), booking or extra services fees not included.
- private: Uber are widely used, others are available like Bolt, Heetch, Marcel or Freenow
- Day trip
- the Trainline (en) is a very straight forward and efficient data aggregator from various European train and bus companies. (the national one sncf-connect being a bit of a nightmare to use)
- Airports
- Tourism Office:
- Paris je t'aime (en): only for inner Paris
- Visit Paris region (en): for the whole region Ile de France.
- Cultural/Event agenda:
- Sortir à Paris (en): culture and nightlife agenda
- Officiel des Spectacles (fr): movies/plays/concerts agenda
- Paris LGBT (en): places, events and resources about the LGBT community
- Paris Jazz Club (en): jazz concerts agenda
- Fanzo (fr): search engine with a map for sports broadcasts in bars
- Health:
- thread for Protest and Strikes concerns
- Eating
- casual: David Lebovitz(en), a blog of a former US chef living in Paris for casual / traditional food
- trendy: Le fooding(en), trendy reference magazine for foodies
- starred: Michelin guide, for 1/2/3 stars restaurants or other gastronomic venues
- Civil unrest
- Sporadic and sudden protests are very rare. The existence of a protest is very regulated, the day and the route have to be agreed with the authorities several days prior to the date.
- Authorized protest or march
- a march usually lasts from 2pm to 6pm and most demonstrators stay until 8pm at the final destination
- Demonstrators (and/or police) outbursts are more likely to happen at the end from 8pm
- Most of the stores along the route close for the whole day, and side accesses to these boulevards are barred by the police to motorized vehicles.
- 95% of the city goes on as usual in terms of street life.
- Metro lines M1 and M14 are automated and thus operate whether there is a strike or not.
- Taxis: all the companies work during a strike
- G7: main company of the "Taxis parisiens", regulated price
- UbeHeetch/Bolt/FreeNow: categorized as VTC ("Véhicules de Tourisme avec chauffeur"), unregulated price
- Safety
- Police department recommendations
- Safety tips video by les Frenchies (experienced US travelers)
- Density & safety level: Paris administrative area ("Paris intramuros") is fairly small for a global capital but the population density is very high. Besides that, Paris is currently the most visited city in the world. This situation inevitably leads to various problems or dramas from time to time and one should beware of this cognitive bias. No public statistics accessible, but Paris' safety level is said to be fairly comparable to other big Western metropolis like London, Rome, Barcelona, Brussels or NYC but lower than Amsterdam, Berlin or generally Scandinavian / Central / Eastern European cities.
- Violent crime: it is very unlikely in inner Paris, European gun laws being much more restrictive than US laws.
- Pickpockets & scams: while generally safe, you might be exposed to pickpockets, scams or harassment in crowded areas, be it touristic, commercial or nightlife hubs. Keep your belongings in sight and try not to display too much costly items. Avoid unsolicited street vendors (not to be confused with, say, street artists near Montmartre or "bouquinistes" of the quays of Seine) and the occasional street games like Bonneteau ("shell game") that are known scams.
- Cat-calling: this is a common issue towards women in Mediterranean countries. In Paris, it is more prevalent in the more modest neighborhoods in the North / North-East- of the city.
- Emergency: If you are in an emergency situation, call 17 (police) / 18 (firefighters but who also handles all life and death emergencies) / 112 (universal European emergency number). All of them are interconnected and will be able to redirect you to the correct one if you happen to pick the wrong one.
- Neighborhoods:
- Tourism is concentrated in the rich areas from the center (roughly arrondissements 1st to 8th + Montmartre 18th).
- As in most cities, main train stations tend to attract more people from the outside, hence a bit riskier, especially at night and crowded metro lines serving the main landmarks
- The northern outskirts of the city (around Porte de la Chapelle / Porte d'Aubervilliers / Porte de la Villette) are home of temporary refugee camps, a high poverty and rarely drug use in the open. It could feel quite unsafe at night, better be accompanied by locals if you want to venture around at night there or simply pass through.
- The surroundings of the very central area of Les Halles (around the eponymous commercial mall) can be a bit messy at night as a lot of young people gather here for eating / drinking or hanging out in the streets. It is still home of great streets for night life like rue Saint Denis but beware of the crowds.
- Also metro stations on line 2 Barbes, La Chapelle and Stalingrad and their surroundings are among the most modest and messy, with countraband cigarettes sellers and potential pickpockets.
- Southern and Western parts are more posh and family oriented but could be "less lively" than the rest of the city.
ONGOING EVENTS
- Olympic Games preparation Impacts thread
- Israel/Palestine conflict Impacts thread
- Plan Vigipirate
- Evacuation of public places in case of a left-alone bag for controlled destruction as what happened in the Louvre or Versailles recently. It also happens from time to time in subways.
- Military patrolling in the city, mostly around landmarks, schools and religious buildings.
- It doesn't mean there is a particular problem, but they take maximum precaution in these tense moments.
GENERAL CHATTER
The comment sections below is here for members to freely ask questions that are recurrent or not worth a dedicated post (like transport, safety or protests topics), write appreciations, greetings, requesting meetups...Same rule applies as in the rest of the sub, post topics regarding Paris and its surroundings only please.
Bref, chit-chat mode is on in the comments!
2024.06.01 07:47 GhoulGriin Best 800 Mhz Scanner
 | submitted by GhoulGriin to u/GhoulGriin [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/x8k06wx1fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e74ff539d3293ec1198da46e1e39236c01f343e2 Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of high-frequency scanners as we bring you a roundup of top-notch 800 MHz products. From powerful communication tools to sophisticated signal detection devices, our comprehensive review offers an in-depth look at these remarkable scanners, helping you make the most informed decision for your specific needs. So, grab your favorite drink, sit back, and join us on this informative and exciting journey. The Top 18 Best 800 Mhz Scanner
Reviews🔗Uniden 800 MHz 300-Channel Base Mobile Scanner with Close Call RF Technologyhttps://preview.redd.it/obpptyc2fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=912b3a072c3f12a3c2d5fa3a5a8d4aa57e8b72cf Recently, I tried out the Uniden BC355C mobile scanner radio and was impressed by its wide-ranging capabilities. This scanner has a special design perfect for fixed locations such as offices or vehicles. One of the most useful features I found was the Close Call RF capture technology that helps you capture signals from transmitters in your vicinity. The scanner's preprogrammed service search functionally captures active frequencies that you can monitor. The backlit display makes reading the display an option in low light conditions, and its ability to monitor 300 channels all at once with a scanning speed of 100 channels per second is quite impressive. The Uniden BC355C also covers a broad range of frequencies, particularly those used for police, ambulance, fire services, amateur radio, and weather announcements. It can scan frequencies at an astonishing speed of 100 channels per second. The scanner includes AC adapters for home use and a DC power cable for in-vehicle use, which is quite convenient. However, one drawback I noticed was the internal speaker's sound quality, which could be improved with an external speaker. Despite this minor flaw, overall, the performance and versatility of the Uniden BC355C Mobile Scanner Radio make it a great investment, especially considered its reasonable price. 🔗Radio Shack Pro-74 100 Channel VHF/UHF/Ai800 MHz Race Scanner - Advanced Features for Real-Life Police Situationshttps://preview.redd.it/cmy6g5y2fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e2937b7aed3a8d4addc5a11b24abe3242813ec78 I recently had the chance to test out the Radio Shack Pro-74, a fantastic option for a cool radio scanner. With its various features and impressive frequency coverage, it made for an enjoyable and informative experience. The weather search feature proved invaluable during race weekends, giving me instant updates on any channel change without needing to manually search. It also stores your 10 favorite channels, making it convenient for accessing frequently used frequencies. One aspect that stood out was the unique opportunity to listen to local first responders in real-life situations, providing a deeper understanding of the risks they face in their line of duty. The Pro-74 covers various bands, including VHF-HI, UHF, air, and government channels, giving listeners broad access to multiple channels for their listening pleasure. However, I did encounter a minor issue with connecting my RE-branded headsets, though fortunately, I was able to order a replacement scanner for a friend. This issue seemed to be specific to my headset brand and not a consistent problem with the scanner itself. Overall, I was blown away by the quality and performance of the Radio Shack Pro-74. It provided clear audio, impressive features, and a wide range of channels for an incredible scanning experience. So if you're in the market for a cool radio scanner, look no further than this one. 🔗Pre-owned 200 Channel VHF/UHF Race Scanner with 800 MHz frequencyhttps://preview.redd.it/5cvjme53fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=86f6644db6cd06fbd20dc6c60e9872ca73a9d852 As someone who loves listening to the chatter on the radio, I was excited to try out the pre-owned Radio Shack Pro-89 VHF/UHF/AIR 800MHz 200 Channel Handheld Race Scanner. With its 200 channels and VHF band, it promised to offer a wealth of information on the race. The first thing that caught my attention was the scanner's robust build, despite its pre-owned condition. It might have a few scuffs and scratches, but it functioned flawlessly. I was impressed with how easy it was to navigate through the channels and find the one I wanted. And when I did, the volume was loud enough to hear without using an earpiece. However, the volume knob did require a bit of a turn to get to a decent level, which can be a bit inconvenient at times. But overall, I'm really happy with my purchase. It's been a great companion, and the fact that I could set it up quickly made it even better. So, although there's a minor drawback with the volume knob, I would highly recommend the Radio Shack Pro-89 VHF/UHF/AIR 800MHz 200 Channel Handheld Race Scanner to anyone looking for a reliable and easy-to-use race scanner. 🔗Uniden BCD536HP 800 MHz Scanner with Wi-Fihttps://preview.redd.it/6kxeubj3fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6ee155f22b397d7f5ca079dcd76a31bdbe5aa22c The Uniden BCD536HP is a versatile scanner that's perfect for both home and mobile use. As someone who's been a scanner enthusiast for years, I can confidently say this device has exceeded my expectations. The trunking technology, which allows for easy set-up with your zip code, is a game-changer in the digital scanner world. It also comes with the entire USA and Canada radio database onboard, providing a seamless listening experience. The Wifi feature really sets this scanner apart from others in its class. With the exclusive Uniden Siren app, I can access my scanner from anywhere in my home or vehicle, giving me unparalleled flexibility. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and the wifi feature might be a bit daunting for non-tech-savvy users. One of the most impressive features is the large display. This clear, easy-to-read display provides quick access to all essential information. But, as someone who appreciates sleek designs, I would have liked a slightly more discreet display. The SAME weather alert is another standout feature. It’s especially useful for those who live in areas prone to severe weather conditions. However, some users may find the weather alerts a bit too frequent or distracting. Overall, the Uniden BCD536HP is an impressive piece of technology, providing an unmatched listening experience. It’s compact, easy to use, and offers a wealth of features that cater to both hobbyists and professionals alike. But, as with any high-tech device, there are certainly areas where it could improve, such as the slightly bulky design and potentially overwhelming wifi functionality. Despite these minor drawbacks, I wholeheartedly recommend the Uniden BCD536HP to anyone in the market for a digital scanner. 🔗Versatile 500-Channel Analog Handheld Scanner with Close Call RF Capturehttps://preview.redd.it/warnxw04fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=798bee6de2b982e15eab67883c987e53546fbedd The Uniden Bearcat 500-Channel Handheld Scanner became my lifeline during my recent expedition to the Great Plains. Its compact design made it the perfect companion for my travels, fitting comfortably in my backpack without taking up too much space. One of the standout features of the scanner was its ability to receive a wide range of frequencies. It allowed me to tune in to police and other agency transmissions, adding an exciting element to my journey. The LCD display was also a helpful feature, providing me with valuable information and making it easy to navigate through the various channels. However, there were a few aspects that left room for improvement. The scanner's battery life could be better, and I found myself constantly having to charge it. Additionally, the earphone jack was a bit finicky, requiring me to fiddle with it to get a clear signal. Despite these minor drawbacks, the Uniden Bearcat 500-Channel Handheld Scanner proved to be a reliable and versatile companion on my adventure. Its compact design, wide frequency range, and LCD display were key factors in making it a valuable addition to my travel gear. 🔗Advanced Multi-Band Radio Scanner for Emergency Serviceshttps://preview.redd.it/vxwb73c4fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c782fce84b74aca79f7d34ae81822e968e0005c8 Recently, I've been using the Whistler Ws1065 Digital Desktop Radio Scanner, and it's been quite an experience. I must admit, it took me a while to get the hang of programming the frequencies, but once I did, I was amazed at the variety of services it could receive. The V-scanner technology and digital AGC were particularly thoughtful features that made the scanning process more enjoyable. The LED indicator was a nice touch, helping me track and monitor all the activity taking place. However, it did take some time to figure out how to use it effectively. One thing I noticed was that the scan list allowed me to arrange, group, and scan objects according to my preferences, which was very convenient. The unit's size and shape fit perfectly on my desk, and the black color blended well with my setup. The 800 Mhz scanner is versatile and can be used in a variety of situations. I did find that the speaker was a bit too low and had to use a booster to make it loud enough. Overall, although it took some effort to get it up and running, I would definitely recommend this scanner to anyone looking for a reliable and efficient way to stay informed about various services. 🔗Uniden BC355N 800 MHz Scanner: Monitor with 300 Channels and Close Call Featurehttps://preview.redd.it/9i66swp4fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57e2bd0bd670d4a111fef6459d47b08f85200324 Imagine walking into a cozy coffee shop, nestled in the bustling heart of the city, where the chatter of voices fills your ears and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee envelops your senses. Now, imagine being able to tune into these voices as a fly on the wall, hearing the police, firefighters, and even the chats of people on the other side of the counter. That's the magic of the Uniden BC355N 800 MHz 300-channel base mobile scanner. This little device is a treasure trove of information, its 300 channels covering the action bands for police, ambulance, fire, amateur radio, and more. With the press of a button, it can instantly capture signals from nearby transmitters, and its RF capture technology ensures you never miss a beat. And hey, if you find your ears overwhelmed with too many frequencies, you can lock out the unwanted ones with search and temporary lockouts. But, like any good scanner, the Uniden BC355N is not without its quirks. Its speakers aren't exactly audiophile-grade, and you might find yourself hankering for an external speaker to enhance the quality of the sound. Plus, some of its features, like programming, might require a bit of patience and the guidance of YouTube tutorials. Nevertheless, despite these minor drawbacks, the Uniden BC355N 800 MHz 300-channel base mobile scanner is a reliable and budget-friendly tool for those looking to tune into the world of radio conversations. 🔗Uniden 800 Mhz 300-Channel Base Scanner with Wide Frequency Coveragehttps://preview.redd.it/96dpraa5fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3469671053b3671a37e86e7996ce8aebb2528ad The Uniden 300-Channel Base Mobile Scanner, also known as the BC355N, is a versatile and affordable option for those looking to monitor various frequency bands in their daily life. The scanner comes with an impressive range of features that make it stand out from other models on the market. One of the most notable aspects of this scanner is its frequency coverage. It includes the most interesting action bands where you can hear police ambulance fire amateur radio public utilities weather and more. The frequency range covers 25-54 108-174 406-512 806-956 (excluding cellular), giving users access to a wide range of communication channels. The BC355N is also equipped with a telescoping antenna that plugs in at the back, along with a variety of other accessories that come included in the box. These accessories include a wire antenna with suction cups for windows, a DC cord to hook to a 12V battery, an AC power supply for house current, a power cord that plugs into the cigarette lighter in your vehicle, a stand that flips down to hold the front of the unit up off the table, and a JAC in the back for an external speaker. The package even comes with a book that provides users with all the information they need to get started. While some users have reported issues with the sound quality of the internal speaker, many others have praised the scanner's affordability and the wide range of features it offers. Overall, the Uniden 800 MHz 300-Channel Base Mobile Scanner (bc355n) is a solid choice for anyone looking to monitor various frequency bands on a budget. 🔗Uniden Base/Mobile Scanner with 300 Channels and Close Call RF Technologyhttps://preview.redd.it/noauytl5fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf3270302b8fc1655e5e95cb661c3e4c15d1b9ea Monitor emergencies and other events with ease using the Uniden BC355N base/mobile scanner. Designed for convenience, it boasts 300 channels and Close Call RF technology, perfect for picking up nearby communications. Its multiple charging options make it versatile, whether you're using it at home or in your car. The included telescoping antenna enhances signal transmission, while the range of frequencies you can receive is truly impressive. As a newcomer to scanners, the learning curve may be steep, but the Uniden BC355N's intuitive programming and affordable price make it a worthwhile investment. 🔗Uniden's 800 MHz Digital Scanner with True I/Q Technologyhttps://preview.redd.it/pej3ge66fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06ecbf0732b32ca0061182ffe1818fe0ea2f56c3 Recently, I got my hands on the Uniden SDS200, a digital base/mobile scanner. As an avid scanner enthusiast, I was intrigued to see how it would perform. The build quality is remarkable, and the 3.5-inch screen makes it easy to read even the tiniest details. I was initially a bit concerned about the audio hum issues reported by some users, but after trying it with a Vertex Standard MLS-100 speaker, there was no humming whatsoever. One thing that stood out is the scanner's True I/Q receiver technology, which provides exceptional digital decode performance. It's perfect for both receiving signals from challenging environments and for fine-tuning audio settings. The scanner's compatibility with USB connectivity is another plus, making it a breeze to transfer data. However, there were a couple of minor drawbacks. Firstly, the ethernet jack is placed on the front, which might be an inconvenience for some users. Secondly, the variety of display color options made it a bit overwhelming, though not a deal-breaker. Programming the scanner seems a bit daunting, especially for beginners, as it requires computer knowledge to set it up optimally. Overall, the Uniden SDS200 base/mobile scanner exceeded my expectations. Its superior performance, user-friendly features, and easy transfer of data make it a great investment for any scanner enthusiast. 🔗Advanced 800 Mhz TrunkTracker V Scannerhttps://preview.redd.it/v9ovkxb6fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3578ba8183113fb4fafa6c98e3e2af94efc3847b The Uniden Handheld TrunkTracker V Scanner, or BCD325P2 for short, has been a faithful companion in my daily life, fulfilling all my scanning needs with its advanced digital technology. Staying connected and informed has never been easier thanks to the device's Close Call RF Capture Technology, which makes it simple to capture and monitor nearby signals. One of the standout features of this scanner is its Priority Scan mode, which ensures that I never miss important channels, especially during emergency situations or when keeping up-to-date with the latest news. With an impressive 25,000 channels to choose from, the scanner offers extensive coverage and flexibility, letting me explore a wide range of frequencies without limitations. The LCD display screen provides crystal-clear and easy-to-read information, allowing me to quickly access the data I need. Though the device is quite portable, weighing only 1 lb, it is powered by two AA batteries, making it even more convenient for on-the-go use. Its compact and lightweight design, combined with its impressive capabilities, makes it a perfect choice for anyone who wants to stay connected and informed. However, there were a few areas where I felt the device could improve. For instance, the instructions provided in the manual, especially for new users, could have been more clearly written in simpler terms. Additionally, some users may find the programming process more complicated and challenging than expected. Despite these minor drawbacks, the BCD325P2 has proven to be a reliable and indispensable tool in my daily life, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking to stay informed and connected. 🔗Uniden Beartracker 885: 40-Channel CB Radio/Scanner with 800 MHz Frequency and Noise-Canceling Microphonehttps://preview.redd.it/y09t2wq6fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01dc7ec8e5436264d456dad33419e53d3f20818d As I was driving on a recent road trip, I remembered my trusty Uniden BearTracker 885 Hybrid CB Radio/Digital Scanner. This little device kept me informed of local public safety activity throughout the United States and Canada, thanks to its ability to scan police, fire, ambulance, and/or DOT radio traffic. One thing that truly impressed me was its ergonomic noise-canceling microphone. It was perfect for those noisy trailer cabs, helping me communicate effectively despite the noise. The 7-color LCD display and meter made it easy to read channels, and the ability to manually set the zip code into the scanner, combined with the GPS location selection of available frequencies, was a game-changer for me. However, there was one downside - I encountered static on all four scanner channels at the same time. It made it difficult to receive clear broadcasts. It would have been great to display the frequencies and ID of the emergency channels, especially in urban areas. Overall, the Uniden BearTrack 885 Hybrid CB Radio/Digital Scanner was a reliable companion on my journey, keeping me informed and connected on the road. Its blend of CB radio and scanner features in one sleek package made it a great choice for other drivers as well. 🔗Stay Informed with Uniden HomePatrol-2 Scanner for Easy Access to Local Channels and Weather Alertshttps://preview.redd.it/tcm7uw27fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09a584c214a2c90e1362e736995fd3a415a3d404 Ever wondered what it's like to have access to a wealth of information about your local police and fire departments, as well as the weather alerts? That's what the Uniden Homepatrol 2 Scanner offers. This handheld device lets you listen in on an amazing array of communications systems, from weather spotters to aircraft communications. It's compatible with APCO25 Phase II, which means you can easily connect to your zip code. But here's the catch. It comes with a caveat. The included antenna isn't the best, so you might need to upgrade it. Once you do, you'll find you can scan a lot of signals in a short time, though it might be a bit slow to pick up some channels. And let's not forget about the batteries. They need to be charged properly and it can take a long time, which can be a bit inconvenient. On the upside, this scanner is easy to program and offers a good range of applications, from general knowledge to journalism. However, some users have reported issues with the battery system and the quality of the included antenna. If you're keen on this type of device, you might want to look out for other models that have better battery life or antenna quality. After all, knowing what's happening in your area can be essential. 🔗Uniden Bear Tracker Scanner for GPS-Enabled Radio Scanninghttps://preview.redd.it/382at9o7fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=30746df5256ffa0af95588d47d3c8f55746ee3d1 In my daily life, I found the Uniden Bear Tracker 9,000-Channel Mobile Analog Scanner to be a powerful and flexible tool for scanning radio systems. It definitely outshines my old radio in terms of features and functions. One of the standout features of this scanner is its GPS-enabled scanning capabilities. This allows the scanner to automatically select nearby radio systems for scanning, making it incredibly convenient while I'm on the go. Another impressive aspect is its memory expansion, which enables it to hold up to 9,000 channels with up to 500 channels per trunked system. This means I can store a wide variety of frequencies and quickly switch between them. However, the user manual could use some improvements. It's not very user-friendly, and Uniden should provide better documentation to help new users understand the scanner's capabilities. Additionally, some users might find the complexity of the radio initially overwhelming. But once you familiarize yourself with the scanner, its vast array of features becomes more accessible. The Bear Tracker also comes with a variety of accessories, such as an AC adapter, DC power adapter, power cord, and a 3-wire DC power cord. It's a significant investment, but the performance and features make it a worthwhile purchase for those who want an analog scanner with advanced capabilities and GPS support. Buyer's GuideSelecting the right 800 MHz scanner can be a daunting task with so many choices in the market. To help you make an informed decision, we have compiled a list of important features to consider.Frequency Rangehttps://preview.redd.it/9gm44kg9fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=63ab9604c28309f80fae1588c932b3e271a04531 The most crucial aspect to consider when purchasing an 800 MHz scanner is the frequency range. Ensure that the scanner operates within the 800-806 MHz frequency range, as this is the standard for these devices. A wider frequency range will allow users to access more channels and features. Screen Size and ResolutionAn 800 MHz scanner's screen plays a significant role in its overall performance. A larger and higher-resolution screen will provide better readability and make it easier to interpret data quickly. While some scanners offer touch-screen functionality, this feature is not crucial and should not be the primary determining factor when selecting a scanner.Battery LifeA long-lasting battery is essential for scanners that need to be used on the go. Ensure that the scanner has a battery life of several hours, and consider purchasing a spare battery to extend your working time. Additionally, look for devices that offer a quick-charge feature to minimize downtime. https://preview.redd.it/2ge0i1o9fw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=094754835b99815bb5dba593aa853323e9b12d66 MemoryFrequent data transfers require ample memory space on an 800 MHz scanner. Consider the available memory capacity of a scanner and ensure it can accommodate your needs. It's best to choose a scanner with expandable memory options, such as a microSD card slot.Connectivity OptionsModern 800 MHz scanners come with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity options to facilitate faster data exchange. Ensure the scanner you're considering offers these features, and confirm compatibility with your other devices and software.Software Compatibilityhttps://preview.redd.it/xa2x1j2afw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48c5581b141361e463d3ffaefaaba3b617bb2bc9 To avoid compatibility issues, make sure the scanner is compatible with your preferred barcode scanning software. Some scanners come with their proprietary software, while others can be third-party compatible. Durability and WaterproofingScanners that operate in harsh environments often benefit from durability and waterproofing features. A rugged build will protect the device from drops, and a waterproof rating will keep it operational during light rain or spills.Warranty and SupportA comprehensive warranty and reliable customer support can provide peace of mind when making a purchase. Look for devices that offer extended warranties and are backed by a reputable manufacturer with a strong customer support presence.When purchasing an 800 MHz scanner, keep in mind the importance of researching, reading reviews, and considering your specific needs to ensure the best fit for your situation. Happy shopping! https://preview.redd.it/9b26jdiafw3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6b59a9f5946d36461f124dcd185ff93a5da5ce0e FAQWhat is an 800 Mhz scanner?An 800 MHz scanner is a type of police scanner that operates at the 800 MHz frequency. These scanners are designed to receive and decode encrypted communications used by law enforcement agencies, such as police departments, sheriff's offices, and other public safety organizations. They are popular among amateur radio enthusiasts and those interested in monitoring public safety communications.How does an 800 Mhz scanner work?800 MHz scanners use software-defined radio (SDR) technology to tune in and decode encrypted communications. They receive signals within the 800 MHz frequency range, decrypt them using a built-in database of encryption keys, and then display the decrypted communications on the scanner's screen or through speakers. Some scanners also offer additional features, such as GPS tracking and integration with third-party apps.What is the difference between an 800 Mhz scanner and a traditional scanner?The primary difference between an 800 MHz scanner and a traditional scanner is the frequency they operate on. Traditional scanners typically operate on VHF (Very High Frequency) or UHF (Ultra High Frequency) bands, while 800 MHz scanners operate at the 800 MHz frequency. 800 MHz scanners are designed specifically to receive and decode encrypted communications used by law enforcement agencies and other public safety organizations, making them more specialized and targeted for this purpose.Are 800 Mhz scanners legal?The legality of using 800 MHz scanners depends on the jurisdiction and specific laws in place. In general, it is legal to own and use an 800 MHz scanner for personal, non-commercial use. However, some states and localities have laws restricting the use of scanners to decode encrypted communications. It is essential to familiarize yourself with the specific laws in your area before using an 800 MHz scanner.What are some of the best 800 Mhz scanners on the market?Some of the best 800 MHz scanners on the market include the: 1. Uniden BCD325P4
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2024.06.01 06:21 webstatic my friends avoidant dream
can someone interpret this for my friend?
to give you a bit of background info, jason is his stepdad ash is our old friend (he used to be in a talking stage with her, i used to date her) they don’t speak anymore mr J is his old math teacher ariel is his ex that broke up with him very recently, he says he’s completely over it, he also says he doesn’t want to see her or speak to her, he’s avoiding her
At first it was weird, Jason hired a cleaning service or something and it was ash which is like alright, im gonna stay in my room. Then my room turns to a fucking sauna and they blast music and it's like fucking midnight. The power goes out and apparently the house almost burnt down. Mr fucking J appears for some reason and is like "I'm gonna check it out" and the firefighters hold him back, this was the only good part. Then I'm in some like fucking gmod map of some generic ass city with this group that is fucking obsessed with sex for some reason and they all love fucking each other, I get initiated into this group for some reason but I back out. They all seemed familiar but I couldn't recognize them. Then later on Ariel shows the fuck up and says "Im sorry you gave a shit attempt with me" or something like that. LIKE WHAT THE FUCK WHY AM I DREAMING ABOUT EVERYONE I WANT TO AVOID AND NOT SPEAK TO?
submitted by webstatic to DreamInterpretation [link] [comments]
to give you a bit of background info, jason is his stepdad ash is our old friend (he used to be in a talking stage with her, i used to date her) they don’t speak anymore mr J is his old math teacher ariel is his ex that broke up with him very recently, he says he’s completely over it, he also says he doesn’t want to see her or speak to her, he’s avoiding her
At first it was weird, Jason hired a cleaning service or something and it was ash which is like alright, im gonna stay in my room. Then my room turns to a fucking sauna and they blast music and it's like fucking midnight. The power goes out and apparently the house almost burnt down. Mr fucking J appears for some reason and is like "I'm gonna check it out" and the firefighters hold him back, this was the only good part. Then I'm in some like fucking gmod map of some generic ass city with this group that is fucking obsessed with sex for some reason and they all love fucking each other, I get initiated into this group for some reason but I back out. They all seemed familiar but I couldn't recognize them. Then later on Ariel shows the fuck up and says "Im sorry you gave a shit attempt with me" or something like that. LIKE WHAT THE FUCK WHY AM I DREAMING ABOUT EVERYONE I WANT TO AVOID AND NOT SPEAK TO?
2024.05.31 02:16 No_Alternative533587 Season 14 (& the interns)
How could the interns in season 14 be so stupid? I understand that they first have to get used to the hospital, but they all had certain training in order to be able to work as doctors right?
AND THE QUESTIONS THEY ASK and how they behave. I'm just shocked.
grey winning the harper avery (and they just talked about it in like one or two episodes or something??)
the way harper avery died was crazy too
amelia having a tumor that has been growing for the past 10 YEARS..??!
the hole storyline with jo‘s ex husband (which i actually enjoyed but the story couldve been longer - had potential…) btw i ha7ed paul sm!!
the grey-sloan getting hacked (and it getting fixed by a beginner.. idk just confusing)
JACKSON AND MAGGIE STARTING TO DATE
ben randomly deciding to become a firefighter
and so much more!!
In my opinion all the storylines are getting a little bit toooo short and to confusing. maybe i’m being too dramatic irdk. I hope someone can relate :))
submitted by No_Alternative533587 to greysanatomy [link] [comments]
AND THE QUESTIONS THEY ASK and how they behave. I'm just shocked.
What's generally going on in season 14???
owen’s sister megan being found and moving with nathan and her son. & the way teddy spawned lolgrey winning the harper avery (and they just talked about it in like one or two episodes or something??)
the way harper avery died was crazy too
amelia having a tumor that has been growing for the past 10 YEARS..??!
the hole storyline with jo‘s ex husband (which i actually enjoyed but the story couldve been longer - had potential…) btw i ha7ed paul sm!!
the grey-sloan getting hacked (and it getting fixed by a beginner.. idk just confusing)
JACKSON AND MAGGIE STARTING TO DATE
ben randomly deciding to become a firefighter
and so much more!!
In my opinion all the storylines are getting a little bit toooo short and to confusing. maybe i’m being too dramatic irdk. I hope someone can relate :))
2024.05.30 15:16 WoodpeckerFar9804 Disturbing find
This is long so I apologize. I want to discuss how hard it feels to find the right person. Nobody is perfect and nobody will check every single box. What would you do in this situation? I put off dating for a long time, at least 5 or 6 years. I have a history or violent and abusive relationships, so I wanted to do some internal work on myself to process my ability to be in relationships and recognize behaviors that could prove to be detrimental. I found that I quite enjoy my own company and being in a romantic relationship is something I want to add to my joy and not something I need to be happy. Recently I went on a date with a man whom I have known casually for a few years. He had asked me out a few years ago when we first met but I was not ready to explore the possibility of dating again due to my past and need to do my own work. This man and I discovered through the years that we have a lot in common, and I decided to give it a go for a date. We really hit it off and went on several dates and found each other to be checking all of the boxes so far, and the physical chemistry is off the charts! However, while he checks all of the boxes, it turns out we are opposite politically ( in US, he is more right leaning and I am more left) He is a firefighter in my community and works directly with other first responders and he is ex military also. I suspected this may be an issue and have tried to bring it up a few times just to see if we are way to far opposite in our core values - He doesn’t seem interested in discussing it. However I feel like he needs to be aware that while I am generally non political in day to day affairs, I am passionate about a few causes and have been known to go to protests and loudly and proudly voice my opinion. I’ve marched with BLM, Pro-choice and women’s rights, and am anti-MAGA. I’m also bisexual and support Pride movements. We are not fb friends yet but I did do some seeking out of his profile and found Blue Lives matter, some memes making fun of feminists ( he IS aware that I am feminist) and the worst one of all….a long scroll through his pictures… the stars and bars. I almost threw up in my mouth. I know that people can be in relationships and differ politically, but I feel like this will be a source of problems. I’m so sad. He literally checks all of the boxes. I know what I have to do but it’s heartbreaking as I genuinely enjoy his company. I guess I’m venting. I waited so long to allow myself to date and now this. I am going to bring it up to him that it’s a deal breaker (the confederate flag mostly) do you think I’m over reacting? Like he wants me to meet his family and everything, he’s head over heels for me. We’ve been dating for about 8 weeks and he’s had a crush on me for several years so I feel like he’s had this fantasy about us already built up in his head and I’m over here still just enjoying the newness of it all but I can not tolerate racism at all.
submitted by WoodpeckerFar9804 to datingoverforty [link] [comments]
2024.05.30 09:06 truecrimeoklahoma Paradise Lost
July 23rd, 2010 was the worse day in the lives of the family of Katrina Griffin. Katrina, her son and daughter were all found deceased. This would be recounted in victim impact statements.
The trailer home her small family lived in, was burnt halfway to cinders before it was put out.
This single, disabled mother of 2 lived on the same rule property her father, and stepmother ginger. Her mother, Rebecca Allen, often visited her grandchildren, as well. She was relieved Katrina lived so close to her father. Rebeca felt Katrina safer, if they only had known the truth of what the world would do to these bright lives.
Katrina had a seizure disorder which left her unable to drive. She was a good mother to her two children, Chasity age 6 and Christian age 8. She received Social Security disability, which allowed her to provide for her children. This includes things like a tv, a game station, and games. She bought a laptop for herself. All the items were marked with KRG.
Together, her and the children played games and watched movies together. Katrina was very much a home body due to her disability. She could drive and only left when she needed to, for and the kids. Her stepmother, Ginger, often took her and her cherished grandkids shopping. She loved them and had them to house often. It was easy, since they all lived on the same property.
With her disability, her father and stepmother often worried for her well being and that of the grandchildren. Having them live on the property was having them close enough to look in on, unfortunately we can’t plan for everything as parents.
Christian was ever the little man of the house, he was loving and protective of his mom. And like every protective little boy, he loved to check on his mom, and he often helped her. But like every boy he also loved to run and play. With his dog, Lulu, he and his sister could often be found running up to grandma’s and back.
Christian was looking forward to being a 3rd grader at Dibble Elementary. He loved the WWE, and most of all he loved to make people laugh.
Chasity was a fun loving little girl. She picked on her brother anytime she could. She was mommy’s little angel, playing with lip gloss and dolls. But she really loved to watch Hannah Montana.
She was a first grader at Dibble elementary school. She loved to sing and make people happy. Chasity often danced like a little ballerina for her mom and her grandparents.
Katrina had done some on line dating, this was how she met Shaun Bosse. It was nice to have the attention. She was so happy she told her friends Heather Molloy and Henry Price it was the best she had been treated.
Bosse began making regular visits to the trailer. He had changed his status to “in a relationship” with Katrina. Bosse made himself semi-at home in a short amount of time.
On July 22nd around 9 in the evening, Christian was looking for his video games. It seemed that several were missing at the time. Christian called his grandma, Ginger Griffin, he asked her if he had left his games at her house.
Around 6 pm, Bosse arrived to visit Katrina. Ginger Griffin had been down to her step daughter’s trailer briefly meeting Bosse. She would later bring the kids back after having grandma time.
Christian and Chasity had been at their grandma Ginger’s earlier in the day. She had dropped them off. She told Christian he had taken the games home with him. A few moments later Katrina got on the line with her. She asked the same question Christian had. Ginger told Katrina the same thing. But Ginger thought this was very odd as she hung up the phone. She wouldn’t get a chance to act on the uncertainty.
Earlier, when the games were discovered missing. Katrina had called her birth mother, Rebecca Allen. They spoke several times that evening, and Katrina seemed to be more and more upset with each call.
Katrina thought the boyfriend, Henry Price, of her close friend, Heather Molloy might have taken the games. She seemed extremely confident it was him at one point, she told her mother. This too worried her mothers, both knew how close she had been with Heather, her cousin.
Starting around 10 pm, Bosse was with Katrina and the kids. Katrina told her Rebecca Bosse was going to drive her over to Heather’s to see if she has the games. She sent one text to Heather and banged on the windows. Finally, she returned home and called the McClain County Sheriff's Office.
Deputy Kent Cunningham arrived to take the missing persons report about 11:50 pm. Katrina seemed very agitated when she spoke to the deputy about the missing video games. She told Cunningham she thought the games had been missing since the Saturday before when Heather and her boyfriend came over to visit.
On the evening of July 17, 2010, Bosse hung out with Katrina, her cousin Heather Molloy and Molloy’s Boyfriend, Henry Price, at Katrina’s trailer. They listened to music, played video games, and drank beer.
Between 12:30 am and 1 am, Katrina telephoned Rebecca saying the deputy had left and she was going to bed.
Around 7 am, Ginger was leaving for work, she drove past Katrina’s as always on the way out. She testified that at the time she didn’t see Bosse’s truck, nor was there any smoke at the time. She would later regret not stopping to check in after the incident with the video games the night before.
It would be when Daryl Dobbs, a neighbor of the family, drove by and saw smoke. He stopped and called 911 and started banging on windows and doors trying to raise the little family. Dobbs honked his horn and beat on the storm door with no answer. He tried to look into the windows, but he couldn’t see anything.
There was a small hole, about golf ball size, in the window to the left of the front door. The trickle of smoke came through the hole.
Dobbs disconnected the propane and electric to keep it from exploding. As the smoke grew, Dobbs already feared the worst, as many would.
The Dibble police chief, Walt Thompson, responded to the 911 call shortly after 9:00 a.m. He saw smoke coming from the west roof line, near the middle of the trailer. The windows were unbroken, but he could not see inside because the trailer was filled with black smoke. Thompson broke a window at the trailer's far southeast corner, leaned inside, and shouted, but nobody responded.
The front door opened when it was touched, and the men on the porch were forced back by heat and heavy black smoke. Both men noticed the smoke was heavier and darker than each one had seen rising from the back of the trailer. Soon flames began to roll out the front door. By this time, they were aware that Katrina and the children might be inside. Dibble volunteer firemen Bill Scott and Mark Palmore arrived and fought their way through the front door. In heavy smoke, they cleared the two bedrooms and bathroom on the trailer's north end, before running low on oxygen.
Washington volunteer firemen Derek Cheek and Gary Bolster, in turn, entered the trailer and began to search the south side through thick black smoke. They extinguished small flames in the living room, kitchen and utility room.
The master bedroom door was shut and warm to the touch. The door had a hole in it, which appeared to have been there before the fire started.
When Cheek opened it, they saw the bodies of Katrina and Christian on the floor. Heat was building up, and the two had to retreat before finishing their search for Chasity.
While there were no flames as they left, within fifteen minutes flames appeared. It took firefighters an hour and a half to contain the fire. They focused on suppressing the flames nearest the victims, Christian and Katrina. Still unaware Chasity had been locked in the closet of her mother’s bedroom.
When firefighters reentered the trailer, the fire had burned significant parts of the master bedroom, including the wall to the closet. The walls in the south part of the trailer were burned, the trailer was filled with charred debris, and the floor decking was saturated with water. The bodies of Katrina and Christian were charred and covered in debris. The fire began in the love seat on the living room's west wall.
The State's experts testified it could have burned for at least four hours before Dobbs saw smoke at 8:55 a.m., smoldering until the front door opened to reignite the flames. to preserve what they could of the crime scene.
Chasity's body, severely charred, was in the closet of the master bedroom, underneath a pile of debris. A chair had been put under the outside knob of the closet door, preventing it from being opened from the inside.
Chasity was burned from the waist down - her legs were charred to the muscle and bone was exposed. She had a laceration to her right cheek and blunt force trauma on the right side of her skull. The autopsy showed soot in her stomach and lungs.
Significant blood spatter was on the walls near Christian's body. His head was partially wrapped in a blanket. He wore underwear and unbuttoned, unzipped jean shorts. He had been stabbed five times in the neck and chest; there was a defensive stab wound on his right forearm, and he had blunt force trauma over his right eyebrow.
Katrina was clothed in a T-shirt, shorts and underwear; her shirt was pulled up over her torso and her hands crossed as if she had been dragged. When found after the fire, her legs were laying over Christian's, and her body was covered in debris. Her body had been partially burned, and there was some indication that it might have been covered with a sheet. She had eight stab wounds to her neck and abdomen, and blunt force trauma to the right side of her head. Her face was charred and her glasses were attached to her burned hair. She had defensive incised wounds on her right palm. Although Katrina was left-handed, her right hand held a knife with the blade pointing backwards, facing her body.
Blood on this knife was consistent with Katrina's blood. A pocketknife with a broken blade was found underneath Katrina's body. The pocketknife belonged to Christian, and Katrina kept it in her bedroom.
The cause of death for both Katrina and Christian was multiple stab wounds. Neither victim had soot in their noses or mouths, suggesting they were dead before the fire. The cause of death for Chasity was smoke inhalation and thermal injury.
As investigators put out the fire and began working at the crime scene on the morning of July 23, Katrina's family members told police that she and Bosse were dating, and authorities began looking for him. Bosse shared an apartment in south Oklahoma City with his mother, Verna. Bosse left the apartment on July 22 at about 8:00 p.m. At about 6:00 a.m. on July 23, Verna saw Bosse getting ready to leave. He left between 6:15 and 6:30 a.m., went to OCCC, and logged in to a computer at about 7:30 a.m.
At about 2:30 p.m., McClain County Sheriff's Detective Dan Huff called and asked Bosse to come to the Sheriff's office. At about 4:00 p.m. Bosse met for about an hour with Huff and David Tompkins, and OSBI Agent Bob Horn. Officers saw Bosse had red abrasions on his knuckles. There was blood on his tennis shoes and a long scratch on his arm. Bosse admitted he was at Katrina's house the previous evening. He talked about the missing games, and said he went with Katrina and the children to Molloy's house about 10:00 p.m. Bosse said he was there when Deputy Cunningham took Katrina's report. He said Katrina wanted him to stay, but he left about 12:30 a.m. on July 23rd, reaching his apartment at 1:30 or 2:00 a.m., and was in bed by 3:00 a.m.
Bosse told investigators that he and Katrina had been dating a few weeks and were not serious. He admitted he spent the night with her a week earlier when the children were gone. He said he'd spent some time there and had been in every room of the trailer. Bosse said Katrina texted him that morning, but he could not retrieve it from his phone.
Not long after Bosse changed his Facebook status, a woman by the name of Justine Lyman had been dating Bosse up until he changed his status on Facebook. Lyman and a woman only identified as Sarah, sent a message to Bosse via Facebook complaining about Katrina. Bosse told Lyman, Katrina was a crazy bitch, and he was dropping her from his friends lists. Something that, if Lyman wanted to, she could check with Katrina herself.
Investigators asked to search Bosse's truck. He refused, but let them take photographs of its contents. A laptop with cables, a Bic lighter and DVD case marked "KRG" were in the front floorboards. A PlayStation console, video games, and DVD cases marked "KRG" were in the front and back seat areas. Bosse said the laptop belonged to a friend, but would not give a name. Bosse left the Sheriff's office after 5:00 p.m. Later that day, Ginger identified the laptop, and other items in the photos, as Katrina's.
OSBI Agent Akers went to Bosse's apartment on the night of July 23 and asked again to search his truck, and this time Bosse agreed. Akers also noticed Bosse's red knuckles, the scratch and the blood on his shoes. Bosse told Akers he'd been to several places that day, including OCCC and a Walmart, but did not say he went anywhere north of I-240 in Oklahoma City, or mention any pawnshops.
Bosse's brother, Matthew, was also at the apartment. Matthew was 6 foot 2 or 3 inches and about 300 pounds, while Bosse was about 5 foot 8 or 9, and about 210 pounds, and the two could not have shared clothing. When Akers searched Bosse's truck, most of the property photographed earlier was gone, though the movies were found in Bosse's bedroom. Investigators searched Bosse's apartment and found items from Katrina's trailer. Stains which might have been blood were on towels and the laundry basket, but only one towel was presumptively tested for blood, and that was not confirmed. A pair of bloody jeans was found in the back of Bosse's closet. DNA tests on the jeans showed genetic profiles from Chasity and Bosse. DNA tests of blood on Bosse's shoes were consistent with Chasity (right shoe) and Katrina (left shoe).
Bosse's billfold was in his truck. A rip in the back created a hidden pocket, which held pawn tickets. When Akers asked Bosse if he forgot to mention the pawn tickets, Bosse turned white, and Akers arrested him. Bosse had pawned more than one hundred of Katrina's possessions at seven different Oklahoma City pawnshops the morning of July 23, when the trailer was still burning.
The pawned items included televisions, a game console and VCR or DVD player, as well as several dozen movies and video games. Most of the games and DVDs were marked with the initials "KRG", and sales receipts confirmed that the electronic equipment was Katrina's. Bosse's and Katrina's fingerprints were found on some of the pawned items. A TV remote in Bosse's truck matched one of Katrina's TVs that Bosse pawned. Officers were able to connect the items to Katrina by serial numbers, Katrina's initials, and identification through witnesses.
submitted by truecrimeoklahoma to Truecrimesokie [link] [comments]
The trailer home her small family lived in, was burnt halfway to cinders before it was put out.
This single, disabled mother of 2 lived on the same rule property her father, and stepmother ginger. Her mother, Rebecca Allen, often visited her grandchildren, as well. She was relieved Katrina lived so close to her father. Rebeca felt Katrina safer, if they only had known the truth of what the world would do to these bright lives.
Katrina had a seizure disorder which left her unable to drive. She was a good mother to her two children, Chasity age 6 and Christian age 8. She received Social Security disability, which allowed her to provide for her children. This includes things like a tv, a game station, and games. She bought a laptop for herself. All the items were marked with KRG.
Together, her and the children played games and watched movies together. Katrina was very much a home body due to her disability. She could drive and only left when she needed to, for and the kids. Her stepmother, Ginger, often took her and her cherished grandkids shopping. She loved them and had them to house often. It was easy, since they all lived on the same property.
With her disability, her father and stepmother often worried for her well being and that of the grandchildren. Having them live on the property was having them close enough to look in on, unfortunately we can’t plan for everything as parents.
Christian was ever the little man of the house, he was loving and protective of his mom. And like every protective little boy, he loved to check on his mom, and he often helped her. But like every boy he also loved to run and play. With his dog, Lulu, he and his sister could often be found running up to grandma’s and back.
Christian was looking forward to being a 3rd grader at Dibble Elementary. He loved the WWE, and most of all he loved to make people laugh.
Chasity was a fun loving little girl. She picked on her brother anytime she could. She was mommy’s little angel, playing with lip gloss and dolls. But she really loved to watch Hannah Montana.
She was a first grader at Dibble elementary school. She loved to sing and make people happy. Chasity often danced like a little ballerina for her mom and her grandparents.
Katrina had done some on line dating, this was how she met Shaun Bosse. It was nice to have the attention. She was so happy she told her friends Heather Molloy and Henry Price it was the best she had been treated.
Bosse began making regular visits to the trailer. He had changed his status to “in a relationship” with Katrina. Bosse made himself semi-at home in a short amount of time.
On July 22nd around 9 in the evening, Christian was looking for his video games. It seemed that several were missing at the time. Christian called his grandma, Ginger Griffin, he asked her if he had left his games at her house.
Around 6 pm, Bosse arrived to visit Katrina. Ginger Griffin had been down to her step daughter’s trailer briefly meeting Bosse. She would later bring the kids back after having grandma time.
Christian and Chasity had been at their grandma Ginger’s earlier in the day. She had dropped them off. She told Christian he had taken the games home with him. A few moments later Katrina got on the line with her. She asked the same question Christian had. Ginger told Katrina the same thing. But Ginger thought this was very odd as she hung up the phone. She wouldn’t get a chance to act on the uncertainty.
Earlier, when the games were discovered missing. Katrina had called her birth mother, Rebecca Allen. They spoke several times that evening, and Katrina seemed to be more and more upset with each call.
Katrina thought the boyfriend, Henry Price, of her close friend, Heather Molloy might have taken the games. She seemed extremely confident it was him at one point, she told her mother. This too worried her mothers, both knew how close she had been with Heather, her cousin.
Starting around 10 pm, Bosse was with Katrina and the kids. Katrina told her Rebecca Bosse was going to drive her over to Heather’s to see if she has the games. She sent one text to Heather and banged on the windows. Finally, she returned home and called the McClain County Sheriff's Office.
Deputy Kent Cunningham arrived to take the missing persons report about 11:50 pm. Katrina seemed very agitated when she spoke to the deputy about the missing video games. She told Cunningham she thought the games had been missing since the Saturday before when Heather and her boyfriend came over to visit.
On the evening of July 17, 2010, Bosse hung out with Katrina, her cousin Heather Molloy and Molloy’s Boyfriend, Henry Price, at Katrina’s trailer. They listened to music, played video games, and drank beer.
Between 12:30 am and 1 am, Katrina telephoned Rebecca saying the deputy had left and she was going to bed.
Around 7 am, Ginger was leaving for work, she drove past Katrina’s as always on the way out. She testified that at the time she didn’t see Bosse’s truck, nor was there any smoke at the time. She would later regret not stopping to check in after the incident with the video games the night before.
It would be when Daryl Dobbs, a neighbor of the family, drove by and saw smoke. He stopped and called 911 and started banging on windows and doors trying to raise the little family. Dobbs honked his horn and beat on the storm door with no answer. He tried to look into the windows, but he couldn’t see anything.
There was a small hole, about golf ball size, in the window to the left of the front door. The trickle of smoke came through the hole.
Dobbs disconnected the propane and electric to keep it from exploding. As the smoke grew, Dobbs already feared the worst, as many would.
The Dibble police chief, Walt Thompson, responded to the 911 call shortly after 9:00 a.m. He saw smoke coming from the west roof line, near the middle of the trailer. The windows were unbroken, but he could not see inside because the trailer was filled with black smoke. Thompson broke a window at the trailer's far southeast corner, leaned inside, and shouted, but nobody responded.
The front door opened when it was touched, and the men on the porch were forced back by heat and heavy black smoke. Both men noticed the smoke was heavier and darker than each one had seen rising from the back of the trailer. Soon flames began to roll out the front door. By this time, they were aware that Katrina and the children might be inside. Dibble volunteer firemen Bill Scott and Mark Palmore arrived and fought their way through the front door. In heavy smoke, they cleared the two bedrooms and bathroom on the trailer's north end, before running low on oxygen.
Washington volunteer firemen Derek Cheek and Gary Bolster, in turn, entered the trailer and began to search the south side through thick black smoke. They extinguished small flames in the living room, kitchen and utility room.
The master bedroom door was shut and warm to the touch. The door had a hole in it, which appeared to have been there before the fire started.
When Cheek opened it, they saw the bodies of Katrina and Christian on the floor. Heat was building up, and the two had to retreat before finishing their search for Chasity.
While there were no flames as they left, within fifteen minutes flames appeared. It took firefighters an hour and a half to contain the fire. They focused on suppressing the flames nearest the victims, Christian and Katrina. Still unaware Chasity had been locked in the closet of her mother’s bedroom.
When firefighters reentered the trailer, the fire had burned significant parts of the master bedroom, including the wall to the closet. The walls in the south part of the trailer were burned, the trailer was filled with charred debris, and the floor decking was saturated with water. The bodies of Katrina and Christian were charred and covered in debris. The fire began in the love seat on the living room's west wall.
The State's experts testified it could have burned for at least four hours before Dobbs saw smoke at 8:55 a.m., smoldering until the front door opened to reignite the flames. to preserve what they could of the crime scene.
Chasity's body, severely charred, was in the closet of the master bedroom, underneath a pile of debris. A chair had been put under the outside knob of the closet door, preventing it from being opened from the inside.
Chasity was burned from the waist down - her legs were charred to the muscle and bone was exposed. She had a laceration to her right cheek and blunt force trauma on the right side of her skull. The autopsy showed soot in her stomach and lungs.
Significant blood spatter was on the walls near Christian's body. His head was partially wrapped in a blanket. He wore underwear and unbuttoned, unzipped jean shorts. He had been stabbed five times in the neck and chest; there was a defensive stab wound on his right forearm, and he had blunt force trauma over his right eyebrow.
Katrina was clothed in a T-shirt, shorts and underwear; her shirt was pulled up over her torso and her hands crossed as if she had been dragged. When found after the fire, her legs were laying over Christian's, and her body was covered in debris. Her body had been partially burned, and there was some indication that it might have been covered with a sheet. She had eight stab wounds to her neck and abdomen, and blunt force trauma to the right side of her head. Her face was charred and her glasses were attached to her burned hair. She had defensive incised wounds on her right palm. Although Katrina was left-handed, her right hand held a knife with the blade pointing backwards, facing her body.
Blood on this knife was consistent with Katrina's blood. A pocketknife with a broken blade was found underneath Katrina's body. The pocketknife belonged to Christian, and Katrina kept it in her bedroom.
The cause of death for both Katrina and Christian was multiple stab wounds. Neither victim had soot in their noses or mouths, suggesting they were dead before the fire. The cause of death for Chasity was smoke inhalation and thermal injury.
As investigators put out the fire and began working at the crime scene on the morning of July 23, Katrina's family members told police that she and Bosse were dating, and authorities began looking for him. Bosse shared an apartment in south Oklahoma City with his mother, Verna. Bosse left the apartment on July 22 at about 8:00 p.m. At about 6:00 a.m. on July 23, Verna saw Bosse getting ready to leave. He left between 6:15 and 6:30 a.m., went to OCCC, and logged in to a computer at about 7:30 a.m.
At about 2:30 p.m., McClain County Sheriff's Detective Dan Huff called and asked Bosse to come to the Sheriff's office. At about 4:00 p.m. Bosse met for about an hour with Huff and David Tompkins, and OSBI Agent Bob Horn. Officers saw Bosse had red abrasions on his knuckles. There was blood on his tennis shoes and a long scratch on his arm. Bosse admitted he was at Katrina's house the previous evening. He talked about the missing games, and said he went with Katrina and the children to Molloy's house about 10:00 p.m. Bosse said he was there when Deputy Cunningham took Katrina's report. He said Katrina wanted him to stay, but he left about 12:30 a.m. on July 23rd, reaching his apartment at 1:30 or 2:00 a.m., and was in bed by 3:00 a.m.
Bosse told investigators that he and Katrina had been dating a few weeks and were not serious. He admitted he spent the night with her a week earlier when the children were gone. He said he'd spent some time there and had been in every room of the trailer. Bosse said Katrina texted him that morning, but he could not retrieve it from his phone.
Not long after Bosse changed his Facebook status, a woman by the name of Justine Lyman had been dating Bosse up until he changed his status on Facebook. Lyman and a woman only identified as Sarah, sent a message to Bosse via Facebook complaining about Katrina. Bosse told Lyman, Katrina was a crazy bitch, and he was dropping her from his friends lists. Something that, if Lyman wanted to, she could check with Katrina herself.
Investigators asked to search Bosse's truck. He refused, but let them take photographs of its contents. A laptop with cables, a Bic lighter and DVD case marked "KRG" were in the front floorboards. A PlayStation console, video games, and DVD cases marked "KRG" were in the front and back seat areas. Bosse said the laptop belonged to a friend, but would not give a name. Bosse left the Sheriff's office after 5:00 p.m. Later that day, Ginger identified the laptop, and other items in the photos, as Katrina's.
OSBI Agent Akers went to Bosse's apartment on the night of July 23 and asked again to search his truck, and this time Bosse agreed. Akers also noticed Bosse's red knuckles, the scratch and the blood on his shoes. Bosse told Akers he'd been to several places that day, including OCCC and a Walmart, but did not say he went anywhere north of I-240 in Oklahoma City, or mention any pawnshops.
Bosse's brother, Matthew, was also at the apartment. Matthew was 6 foot 2 or 3 inches and about 300 pounds, while Bosse was about 5 foot 8 or 9, and about 210 pounds, and the two could not have shared clothing. When Akers searched Bosse's truck, most of the property photographed earlier was gone, though the movies were found in Bosse's bedroom. Investigators searched Bosse's apartment and found items from Katrina's trailer. Stains which might have been blood were on towels and the laundry basket, but only one towel was presumptively tested for blood, and that was not confirmed. A pair of bloody jeans was found in the back of Bosse's closet. DNA tests on the jeans showed genetic profiles from Chasity and Bosse. DNA tests of blood on Bosse's shoes were consistent with Chasity (right shoe) and Katrina (left shoe).
Bosse's billfold was in his truck. A rip in the back created a hidden pocket, which held pawn tickets. When Akers asked Bosse if he forgot to mention the pawn tickets, Bosse turned white, and Akers arrested him. Bosse had pawned more than one hundred of Katrina's possessions at seven different Oklahoma City pawnshops the morning of July 23, when the trailer was still burning.
The pawned items included televisions, a game console and VCR or DVD player, as well as several dozen movies and video games. Most of the games and DVDs were marked with the initials "KRG", and sales receipts confirmed that the electronic equipment was Katrina's. Bosse's and Katrina's fingerprints were found on some of the pawned items. A TV remote in Bosse's truck matched one of Katrina's TVs that Bosse pawned. Officers were able to connect the items to Katrina by serial numbers, Katrina's initials, and identification through witnesses.
2024.05.30 07:59 Yubookoo First time visiting my girlfriend’s family
 | This is unfortunately a 100% true story. So more than a decade ago a woman and I started dating and she introduced me to one of her favorite shows “the life and times of Tim.” If it makes any difference my name is actually tim. like her, I found the show hysterical. submitted by Yubookoo to TheLifeAndTimesOfTim [link] [comments] Fast forward a couple months to the holiday season, she brought me home to meet her family. And they were very nice but a weird thing happened the first night. My girlfriend’s mom asked if I wanted some of her father’s old clothes. It was so strange.. like well intentioned but weird as hell. And I thought I played it off as best I could like yeah, that’s very nice of you. Accepted the clothes with no intention of ever wearing them, but felt like it was a white lie. Like I had acted OK in a very awkward situation. So I put the clothes in my girlfriend’s bedroom. Later my girlfriend was teasing me about how fucking weird that was and we were laughing. And she brought up that one of the clothing items looked like the nightshirt Amy gifted Tim. And it really did. Her grandfather was really tall so I think it was a shirt, but on me it did look like a gown. So we are joking around and I say ok ill put it on. Took off my shirt and pants off (left my underwear on) and donned the nightshirt. And we were cracking up. Here is where some bad decisions were made. My girlfriend mentioned how much her sister also loved the show and had a funny idea. My girlfriend started yelling through the door for her sister.. hey hey you have to come and see this. And when her sister opened the door my girlfriend was holding me up in the nightgown like the firefighter did in season one. Like a poorly conceived pieta. Her sister just rolled her eyes and slammed the door back shut. Whoops. |
2024.05.30 07:35 DefiantDetective5 What the firefighter said
What Firefighter Katie McLaughlin testified to on the stand in trial:
Day 3 direct testimony:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CftQ16wAp0I&ab_channel=CBSBoston
Transcript:
...
PROSECUTOR: now turn your attention to um that morning of the 29th uh do you recall about what time you you got up or what time you went outside that day um
KATIE: I think we were up maybe a little little before 6 it was snowing and uh we had to like shovel the the front apron uh so we were up maybe 5 5:00 a.m.
PROSECUTOR: and so when you were up around that time around 5:00 a.m. and outside you were outside shoveling is that correct
KATIE: yep intermittently sorry intermittently yeah
PROSECUTOR: so during the times that you were outside shoveling what if anything did You observe as far as the weather with the conditions
KATIE: that uh it was snowing pretty heavily uh it had been snowing uh we were shoveling and it was pretty pretty cold and and windy and if you know around that time that you initially sort of went out and were shoveling about how much snow had been had accumulated at that point uh I don't know how much I mean enough enough for us to to shovel that front apron but I don't know how much now sometime shortly after 6:00 a.m.
PROSECUTOR: were you and other members of your depart and dispatched to a call
KATIE: yes
PROSECUTOR: and um where were you dispatched to and what was that dispatch in regard uh
KATIE: so the call came in as e a man down in the snow or a man unresponsive in the snow uh and the call was 434 Fairview Road
PROSECUTOR: and about how long uh was it the time that you uh sort of receive that dispatch and and go sort of on the engine to to that residence and for how long
KATIE: yes we're on the truck and going within probably within a few minutes at most
PROSECUTOR: and so in addition to yourself on the and firefighter Walsh and Lieutenant Woodbury um what if any other sort of apparatus from your station was dispatched to this called
KATIE: the ambulance was dispatched as well and I believe uh the command car car five uh also was dispatched to the call
PROSECUTOR: and as far as car five if you recall who was in car five
KATIE: at the time Captain
PROSECUTOR: and uh with respect to the ambulance uh if you know who if anyone was was assigned to the ambulance and went with the ambulance that day
KATIE: firefighter Kelly and and firefighter flatti were on that ambulance and I believe Tim nutall was also there he came in uh early and so he jumped on the ambulance as well
PROSECUTOR: with respect to when you get to Fair viiew room um do you recall what sort of order of the vehicles were in as far as car five the ambulance and the fire engine
KATIE: I think car five was maybe first and then uh the ambulance was in front of us and then we pulled up behind the ambulance
PROSECUTOR: and so when you sort of arrive on scene uh pull up behind the ambulance other than vehicles from your department what if any other sort of uh Vehicles Did You observe or see on scene that day uh
KATIE: I noticed there were uh multiple police vehicles um and a CI at least one civilian vehicle
PROSECUTOR: now obviously you're responding to a report of a an unresponsive mail party correct yes and when you're sort of first arriving on scene or or just in reference to when you arrived on scene when was the first time that you were able to see that unresponsive
KATIE: So when I got out of the engine, I went right back to the ambulance to get the stretcher. 'Cause I knew that from wherever they were, they seemed to be kind of in off of the road. So I went got the stretcher with firefighter Walsh, I believe, and then we brought the stretcher as close as we could to the patient. That was about parallel to the curb, and that would be the first time that I observed them working on a patient.
PROSECUTOR: If I could just ask you, with regard to those duties as the backstep person, what are the duties and responsibilities of the backstep person on the engine to this kind of medical go?
**KATIE:**The role of the person in the back of the engine depends on what the lead paramedic needs you to do. You're there to assist the ambulance in any way they need, which could include assisting with extrication of a patient, obtaining information about a patient or bystanders, or assisting with patient care if they need you in the back of the ambulance. It really depends on what they need you to do for that particular call.
PROSECUTOR: Turning back to your testimony a moment ago, you said you were over rendering patient care, is that correct?
KATIE: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: What do you mean by that?
KATIE: I noted Tim, I noted Tony, and there were a lot of people around that area. I'm not sure exactly who else was there, but I did know Tony and Tim were in that area.
PROSECUTOR: As far as the other people in that area where Tony and Tim were, beyond people from your department, what other people did you notice around that area?
**KATIE:**I don't know specifically. At that point, I couldn't make out the identities of other people. I just noted Tim and Tony, but I didn't really pick up on who anyone else was. They were still in off of the road at that point.
PROSECUTOR: From where they were positioned with regard to the patient, and just for clarity purposes, you subsequently learned the identity of the patient, correct?
KATIE: Yes.
Who did you learn him to be?
KATIE: John O'Keefe.
PROSECUTOR: Where you and firefighter Walsh were with the stretcher, how far away from you was Mr. O'Keefe?
KATIE: I don't know that I could give a great number, several feet away. I remember seeing a fire hydrant, but I don't know exactly how far that would be.
PROSECUTOR: From your observation of where Mr. O'Keefe was, could you tell how his body was positioned?
KATIE: He was supine, lying on his back or face up.
PROSECUTOR: By the time you arrived with firefighter Walsh with the stretcher, what could you see that firefighters Fat and Nuttle or anyone else was doing with reference to Mr. O'Keefe?
KATIE: By that point, it seemed like they had already got him pretty much secured on a backboard, and they were ready to move him to the stretcher.
PROSECUTOR: Once Mr. O'Keefe was moved with the backboard from where he was to the stretcher, what happened next?
KATIE: Tony was at the head of the stretcher. I was standing on the side. There was a woman next to me, and Tony said to me, "Can you try to figure out what happened?" He kind of motioned to this woman that was next to me.
PROSECUTOR: The lead paramedic directed you to ask some questions of this female, correct?
KATIE: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: Fair to say this woman that was next to you, you didn't know her, you never met her before?
KATIE: No.
PROSECUTOR: From your conversations with her that day, do you see that woman in the courtroom today?
KATIE: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: You can just direct us to where she is or an article of clothing she's wearing.
PROSECUTOR: With respect to this woman, she's standing next to you when you're at the side of the stretcher, correct?
KATIE: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: What observations did you initially make as far as her demeanor or how she was acting when you first started to engage her?
KATIE: She seemed very upset.
PROSECUTOR: When you say she seemed very upset, what did you observe that makes you say that?
KATIE: Just her facial expression. She was visibly distraught.
PROSECUTOR: As far as your questions, what type of questions were you asking or what type of information were you looking for from this person?
KATIE: Just basic demographic info—who the patient is, his name, his date of birth. Then, as far as more questioning, you're trying to gather information that would help explain how this person ended up in the scenario that they're in. Did he have any medical problems? Does he take any medications daily? Does he have any allergies to medications? I was asking those questions.
PROSECUTOR: As you were asking those questions, what was the defendant doing?
KATIE: She answered who the patient was, his birthday. She answered some of those initial medical questions I asked. But she was very distraught, moving around the scene a little bit, so I was kind of following her. We came to a stop at one point, and I asked one more question.
PROSECUTOR: What was that one more question?
KATIE: At that point, I asked her if there had been any significant trauma that happened before this.
PROSECUTOR: What did she say?
KATIE: She said, "I hit him." She repeated it. There was a woman standing across from her who said, "You're hysterical, you need to calm down, you're hysterical." She repeated, "I hit him." There was a police officer in that vicinity who replied, "You what?" She repeated it one more time. That officer then signaled to somebody to get Goody down here, which I'm assuming would be the sergeant.
PROSECUTOR: When you have this conversation, if you recall, you mentioned the other person who was across from you. Was that somebody from your department, an officer, or a civilian?
KATIE: Karen Read was to my right. There was another woman to the left of me, kind of across from her, and then there was a police officer not directly across from me but within the same kind of area, closer to Karen.
PROSECUTOR: Do you know who that officer was?
KATIE: I don't.
PROSECUTOR: Do you know who the female or civilian person that was across from you was?
KATIE: No.
PROSECUTOR: With respect to when Miss Read said repeatedly, "I hit him," can you describe for the jury the tonality of that?
KATIE: She was very, very upset. She seemed hysterical, I would even say. Just very upset.
PROSECUTOR: Once you received that information, did you follow up with any other questions to Miss Reed?
KATIE: At that point, I did not. I have to drive the ambulance, so it's a time-sensitive situation. I knew I had to drive the ambulance. It was said in the presence of the police officer, so I felt that information was appropriately transferred. Based on her demeanor, I don't think it would have been productive for me to continue to ask her questions at that point.
PROSECUTOR: After asking and receiving that answer, "I hit him," where did you go?
KATIE: I went to the ambulance.
PROSECUTOR: Did you go to the back of the ambulance, front of the ambulance?
KATIE: I went to the back of the ambulance where the patient care was happening.
PROSECUTOR: As far as the information that you received from the defendant, did you relay that information to any of the other firefighters from your department in the back of the ambulance?
KATIE: I did.
PROSECUTOR: Do you recall who was there in the back of the ambulance when you relayed that?
KATIE: Tony was there, Tim, maybe firefighter Kelly, and firefighter Walsh might have been there at that point.
PROSECUTOR: When you got to the back of the ambulance, what did you do with reference to assist or help with patient care regarding Mr. O'Keefe?
KATIE: I didn't assist or partake in any patient care.
PROSECUTOR: Prior to putting Mr. O'Keefe into the back of the ambulance and your conversation with the defendant, what observations had you made during the brief time that you were on the side of the stretcher of Mr. O'Keefe and any injuries?
KATIE: I noted he had injuries to his face. I noticed some blood from his nose and mouth, and most notably, he had some swelling to his eyes, mostly the right eye, and a laceration above the right eye.
KATIE: When you went to the back of the ambulance to relay the information, what injuries did you observe of Mr. O'Keefe once he was in the back?
KATIE: I observed those injuries in the back of the ambulance. I didn't observe those injuries while he was out on the stretcher. I didn't get a good look at him until the back.
PROSECUTOR: You really hadn't got a good look until the back, right?
KATIE: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: You indicated you drove the ambulance from Fairview. Where did you go to?
KATIE: Good Samaritan Hospital.
PROSECUTOR: As you were driving the ambulance along the roads from Canton to Brockton, what did you notice as far as visibility and road conditions?
KATIE: There was poor visibility. The roads weren't plowed yet, so it took probably longer than usual based on the conditions.
PROSECUTOR: I apologize, but if I can take you just a step back further for a moment. In reference to when you were in the back of the ambulance, what observations did you make as far as the clothing that Mr. O'Keefe was wearing?
KATIE: I noted that he was wearing jeans, a black zip-up jacket or sweatshirt, like a lighter jacket. He had one sneaker on, and that was it.
PROSECUTOR: Do you recall which foot the sneaker was on?
KATIE: I don't.
Day 4:
PROSECUTOR: You now have a few more questions. I'll turn your attention to the time we testified about yesterday when you were with Mr. O'Keefe in the back of the ambulance.
PROSECUTOR: With respect to his clothing, what observations did you make regarding his clothing?
KATIE: In terms of what he was wearing, he was wearing jeans, a dark-colored light zip-up jacket, and I noticed one sneaker.
PROSECUTOR: Regarding that clothing, what observations did you make about its condition?
KATIE: It was soaked through.
PROSECUTOR: As far as tears or holes or anything else regarding that clothing, what observations did you make?
KATIE: I didn't see any.
PROSECUTOR: Miss Gilman, if I could have exhibit number 18. May I approach the witness?
KATIE: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: Now, firefighter, do you recognize what's up on the screen as exhibit 18?
KATIE: Do I recognize what it is?
PROSECUTOR: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: What do you recognize it to be?
KATIE: The address of the call, 34 Fairview Road.
PROSECUTOR: With respect to the photographs, do you observe within it where Mr. O'Keefe was on the ground when you first arrived?
KATIE: From this angle, no, I don't.
PROSECUTOR: If it is not in the photograph, is it off to the left, the right, or where would it be in relation to this photograph?
KATIE: To the left, I would say.
PROSECUTOR: About how far off frame do you believe it was?
KATIE: I'm not sure. My view of the call wasn't referenced to a house on either side. The patient was off the road, and the only thing I noted was a fire hydrant. In relation to that, it was to the left of a house, but I'm not sure exactly how far left it would be from this picture, from this angle.
PROSECUTOR: So your memory is to the left of the house near a fire hydrant, is that correct?
KATIE: Yes.
Take that down. I have no further questions.
What Katie McLaughlin said on day John O'Keefe died, according to prosecutors:
https://pdfcoffee.com/commonwealth-vs-read-opposition--pdf-free.html
"On January 30, Troopers Bukhenik and Proctor interviewed Canton Firefighter Katie McLaughlin. She had been assigned to Station One on the 29th and indicated that at approximately 6:00 a.m., Canton Fire and EMS had been dispatched to 34 Fairview Road for a male party in the snow and unresponsive. Upon arrival, Ms. McLaughlin observed the victim to have trauma to his face and eye area and vomit in his mouth. She observed the victim to be dressed in jeans, socks and one black Nike sneaker. The victim’s shirts were cut and his chest exposed for chest compressions. Ms. McLaughlin had exited the ambulance to speak with the defendant as to the victim’s identity and medical history. The defendant provided the victim’s name and date of birth. Ms. McLaughlin asked the defendant if she knew where the victim had suffered the trauma to his face/eye and the defendant turned to her friend and stated repeatedly, “I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.”; in response to the paramedic’s question.
...The defendant states that Ms. McCabe stated to Trooper Proctor that while they were searching for Mr. O’Keefe, the defendant repeatedly asked “could I have hit him”, “did I hit him.” The defendant also repeated these statements when the body of the victim was discovered, as reflected in the testimony of Ms. McCabe, Ms. Roberts, and first responder Ms. McLaughlin, in response to the paramedic’s questions regarding the causation of the injuries to the victim.
submitted by DefiantDetective5 to KarenReadTrial [link] [comments]
Day 3 direct testimony:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CftQ16wAp0I&ab_channel=CBSBoston
Transcript:
...
PROSECUTOR: now turn your attention to um that morning of the 29th uh do you recall about what time you you got up or what time you went outside that day um
KATIE: I think we were up maybe a little little before 6 it was snowing and uh we had to like shovel the the front apron uh so we were up maybe 5 5:00 a.m.
PROSECUTOR: and so when you were up around that time around 5:00 a.m. and outside you were outside shoveling is that correct
KATIE: yep intermittently sorry intermittently yeah
PROSECUTOR: so during the times that you were outside shoveling what if anything did You observe as far as the weather with the conditions
KATIE: that uh it was snowing pretty heavily uh it had been snowing uh we were shoveling and it was pretty pretty cold and and windy and if you know around that time that you initially sort of went out and were shoveling about how much snow had been had accumulated at that point uh I don't know how much I mean enough enough for us to to shovel that front apron but I don't know how much now sometime shortly after 6:00 a.m.
PROSECUTOR: were you and other members of your depart and dispatched to a call
KATIE: yes
PROSECUTOR: and um where were you dispatched to and what was that dispatch in regard uh
KATIE: so the call came in as e a man down in the snow or a man unresponsive in the snow uh and the call was 434 Fairview Road
PROSECUTOR: and about how long uh was it the time that you uh sort of receive that dispatch and and go sort of on the engine to to that residence and for how long
KATIE: yes we're on the truck and going within probably within a few minutes at most
PROSECUTOR: and so in addition to yourself on the and firefighter Walsh and Lieutenant Woodbury um what if any other sort of apparatus from your station was dispatched to this called
KATIE: the ambulance was dispatched as well and I believe uh the command car car five uh also was dispatched to the call
PROSECUTOR: and as far as car five if you recall who was in car five
KATIE: at the time Captain
PROSECUTOR: and uh with respect to the ambulance uh if you know who if anyone was was assigned to the ambulance and went with the ambulance that day
KATIE: firefighter Kelly and and firefighter flatti were on that ambulance and I believe Tim nutall was also there he came in uh early and so he jumped on the ambulance as well
PROSECUTOR: with respect to when you get to Fair viiew room um do you recall what sort of order of the vehicles were in as far as car five the ambulance and the fire engine
KATIE: I think car five was maybe first and then uh the ambulance was in front of us and then we pulled up behind the ambulance
PROSECUTOR: and so when you sort of arrive on scene uh pull up behind the ambulance other than vehicles from your department what if any other sort of uh Vehicles Did You observe or see on scene that day uh
KATIE: I noticed there were uh multiple police vehicles um and a CI at least one civilian vehicle
PROSECUTOR: now obviously you're responding to a report of a an unresponsive mail party correct yes and when you're sort of first arriving on scene or or just in reference to when you arrived on scene when was the first time that you were able to see that unresponsive
KATIE: So when I got out of the engine, I went right back to the ambulance to get the stretcher. 'Cause I knew that from wherever they were, they seemed to be kind of in off of the road. So I went got the stretcher with firefighter Walsh, I believe, and then we brought the stretcher as close as we could to the patient. That was about parallel to the curb, and that would be the first time that I observed them working on a patient.
PROSECUTOR: If I could just ask you, with regard to those duties as the backstep person, what are the duties and responsibilities of the backstep person on the engine to this kind of medical go?
**KATIE:**The role of the person in the back of the engine depends on what the lead paramedic needs you to do. You're there to assist the ambulance in any way they need, which could include assisting with extrication of a patient, obtaining information about a patient or bystanders, or assisting with patient care if they need you in the back of the ambulance. It really depends on what they need you to do for that particular call.
PROSECUTOR: Turning back to your testimony a moment ago, you said you were over rendering patient care, is that correct?
KATIE: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: What do you mean by that?
KATIE: I noted Tim, I noted Tony, and there were a lot of people around that area. I'm not sure exactly who else was there, but I did know Tony and Tim were in that area.
PROSECUTOR: As far as the other people in that area where Tony and Tim were, beyond people from your department, what other people did you notice around that area?
**KATIE:**I don't know specifically. At that point, I couldn't make out the identities of other people. I just noted Tim and Tony, but I didn't really pick up on who anyone else was. They were still in off of the road at that point.
PROSECUTOR: From where they were positioned with regard to the patient, and just for clarity purposes, you subsequently learned the identity of the patient, correct?
KATIE: Yes.
Who did you learn him to be?
KATIE: John O'Keefe.
PROSECUTOR: Where you and firefighter Walsh were with the stretcher, how far away from you was Mr. O'Keefe?
KATIE: I don't know that I could give a great number, several feet away. I remember seeing a fire hydrant, but I don't know exactly how far that would be.
PROSECUTOR: From your observation of where Mr. O'Keefe was, could you tell how his body was positioned?
KATIE: He was supine, lying on his back or face up.
PROSECUTOR: By the time you arrived with firefighter Walsh with the stretcher, what could you see that firefighters Fat and Nuttle or anyone else was doing with reference to Mr. O'Keefe?
KATIE: By that point, it seemed like they had already got him pretty much secured on a backboard, and they were ready to move him to the stretcher.
PROSECUTOR: Once Mr. O'Keefe was moved with the backboard from where he was to the stretcher, what happened next?
KATIE: Tony was at the head of the stretcher. I was standing on the side. There was a woman next to me, and Tony said to me, "Can you try to figure out what happened?" He kind of motioned to this woman that was next to me.
PROSECUTOR: The lead paramedic directed you to ask some questions of this female, correct?
KATIE: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: Fair to say this woman that was next to you, you didn't know her, you never met her before?
KATIE: No.
PROSECUTOR: From your conversations with her that day, do you see that woman in the courtroom today?
KATIE: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: You can just direct us to where she is or an article of clothing she's wearing.
PROSECUTOR: With respect to this woman, she's standing next to you when you're at the side of the stretcher, correct?
KATIE: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: What observations did you initially make as far as her demeanor or how she was acting when you first started to engage her?
KATIE: She seemed very upset.
PROSECUTOR: When you say she seemed very upset, what did you observe that makes you say that?
KATIE: Just her facial expression. She was visibly distraught.
PROSECUTOR: As far as your questions, what type of questions were you asking or what type of information were you looking for from this person?
KATIE: Just basic demographic info—who the patient is, his name, his date of birth. Then, as far as more questioning, you're trying to gather information that would help explain how this person ended up in the scenario that they're in. Did he have any medical problems? Does he take any medications daily? Does he have any allergies to medications? I was asking those questions.
PROSECUTOR: As you were asking those questions, what was the defendant doing?
KATIE: She answered who the patient was, his birthday. She answered some of those initial medical questions I asked. But she was very distraught, moving around the scene a little bit, so I was kind of following her. We came to a stop at one point, and I asked one more question.
PROSECUTOR: What was that one more question?
KATIE: At that point, I asked her if there had been any significant trauma that happened before this.
PROSECUTOR: What did she say?
KATIE: She said, "I hit him." She repeated it. There was a woman standing across from her who said, "You're hysterical, you need to calm down, you're hysterical." She repeated, "I hit him." There was a police officer in that vicinity who replied, "You what?" She repeated it one more time. That officer then signaled to somebody to get Goody down here, which I'm assuming would be the sergeant.
PROSECUTOR: When you have this conversation, if you recall, you mentioned the other person who was across from you. Was that somebody from your department, an officer, or a civilian?
KATIE: Karen Read was to my right. There was another woman to the left of me, kind of across from her, and then there was a police officer not directly across from me but within the same kind of area, closer to Karen.
PROSECUTOR: Do you know who that officer was?
KATIE: I don't.
PROSECUTOR: Do you know who the female or civilian person that was across from you was?
KATIE: No.
PROSECUTOR: With respect to when Miss Read said repeatedly, "I hit him," can you describe for the jury the tonality of that?
KATIE: She was very, very upset. She seemed hysterical, I would even say. Just very upset.
PROSECUTOR: Once you received that information, did you follow up with any other questions to Miss Reed?
KATIE: At that point, I did not. I have to drive the ambulance, so it's a time-sensitive situation. I knew I had to drive the ambulance. It was said in the presence of the police officer, so I felt that information was appropriately transferred. Based on her demeanor, I don't think it would have been productive for me to continue to ask her questions at that point.
PROSECUTOR: After asking and receiving that answer, "I hit him," where did you go?
KATIE: I went to the ambulance.
PROSECUTOR: Did you go to the back of the ambulance, front of the ambulance?
KATIE: I went to the back of the ambulance where the patient care was happening.
PROSECUTOR: As far as the information that you received from the defendant, did you relay that information to any of the other firefighters from your department in the back of the ambulance?
KATIE: I did.
PROSECUTOR: Do you recall who was there in the back of the ambulance when you relayed that?
KATIE: Tony was there, Tim, maybe firefighter Kelly, and firefighter Walsh might have been there at that point.
PROSECUTOR: When you got to the back of the ambulance, what did you do with reference to assist or help with patient care regarding Mr. O'Keefe?
KATIE: I didn't assist or partake in any patient care.
PROSECUTOR: Prior to putting Mr. O'Keefe into the back of the ambulance and your conversation with the defendant, what observations had you made during the brief time that you were on the side of the stretcher of Mr. O'Keefe and any injuries?
KATIE: I noted he had injuries to his face. I noticed some blood from his nose and mouth, and most notably, he had some swelling to his eyes, mostly the right eye, and a laceration above the right eye.
KATIE: When you went to the back of the ambulance to relay the information, what injuries did you observe of Mr. O'Keefe once he was in the back?
KATIE: I observed those injuries in the back of the ambulance. I didn't observe those injuries while he was out on the stretcher. I didn't get a good look at him until the back.
PROSECUTOR: You really hadn't got a good look until the back, right?
KATIE: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: You indicated you drove the ambulance from Fairview. Where did you go to?
KATIE: Good Samaritan Hospital.
PROSECUTOR: As you were driving the ambulance along the roads from Canton to Brockton, what did you notice as far as visibility and road conditions?
KATIE: There was poor visibility. The roads weren't plowed yet, so it took probably longer than usual based on the conditions.
PROSECUTOR: I apologize, but if I can take you just a step back further for a moment. In reference to when you were in the back of the ambulance, what observations did you make as far as the clothing that Mr. O'Keefe was wearing?
KATIE: I noted that he was wearing jeans, a black zip-up jacket or sweatshirt, like a lighter jacket. He had one sneaker on, and that was it.
PROSECUTOR: Do you recall which foot the sneaker was on?
KATIE: I don't.
Day 4:
PROSECUTOR: You now have a few more questions. I'll turn your attention to the time we testified about yesterday when you were with Mr. O'Keefe in the back of the ambulance.
PROSECUTOR: With respect to his clothing, what observations did you make regarding his clothing?
KATIE: In terms of what he was wearing, he was wearing jeans, a dark-colored light zip-up jacket, and I noticed one sneaker.
PROSECUTOR: Regarding that clothing, what observations did you make about its condition?
KATIE: It was soaked through.
PROSECUTOR: As far as tears or holes or anything else regarding that clothing, what observations did you make?
KATIE: I didn't see any.
PROSECUTOR: Miss Gilman, if I could have exhibit number 18. May I approach the witness?
KATIE: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: Now, firefighter, do you recognize what's up on the screen as exhibit 18?
KATIE: Do I recognize what it is?
PROSECUTOR: Yes.
PROSECUTOR: What do you recognize it to be?
KATIE: The address of the call, 34 Fairview Road.
PROSECUTOR: With respect to the photographs, do you observe within it where Mr. O'Keefe was on the ground when you first arrived?
KATIE: From this angle, no, I don't.
PROSECUTOR: If it is not in the photograph, is it off to the left, the right, or where would it be in relation to this photograph?
KATIE: To the left, I would say.
PROSECUTOR: About how far off frame do you believe it was?
KATIE: I'm not sure. My view of the call wasn't referenced to a house on either side. The patient was off the road, and the only thing I noted was a fire hydrant. In relation to that, it was to the left of a house, but I'm not sure exactly how far left it would be from this picture, from this angle.
PROSECUTOR: So your memory is to the left of the house near a fire hydrant, is that correct?
KATIE: Yes.
Take that down. I have no further questions.
What Katie McLaughlin said on day John O'Keefe died, according to prosecutors:
https://pdfcoffee.com/commonwealth-vs-read-opposition--pdf-free.html
"On January 30, Troopers Bukhenik and Proctor interviewed Canton Firefighter Katie McLaughlin. She had been assigned to Station One on the 29th and indicated that at approximately 6:00 a.m., Canton Fire and EMS had been dispatched to 34 Fairview Road for a male party in the snow and unresponsive. Upon arrival, Ms. McLaughlin observed the victim to have trauma to his face and eye area and vomit in his mouth. She observed the victim to be dressed in jeans, socks and one black Nike sneaker. The victim’s shirts were cut and his chest exposed for chest compressions. Ms. McLaughlin had exited the ambulance to speak with the defendant as to the victim’s identity and medical history. The defendant provided the victim’s name and date of birth. Ms. McLaughlin asked the defendant if she knew where the victim had suffered the trauma to his face/eye and the defendant turned to her friend and stated repeatedly, “I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.”; in response to the paramedic’s question.
...The defendant states that Ms. McCabe stated to Trooper Proctor that while they were searching for Mr. O’Keefe, the defendant repeatedly asked “could I have hit him”, “did I hit him.” The defendant also repeated these statements when the body of the victim was discovered, as reflected in the testimony of Ms. McCabe, Ms. Roberts, and first responder Ms. McLaughlin, in response to the paramedic’s questions regarding the causation of the injuries to the victim.
2024.05.29 17:27 TriBiscuit Occupation Hazard [38]
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Memory transcription subject: Herq, Tilfish Junior Exterminator
Date [standardized human time]: December 4th, 2136
I was so tired. My body ached from the last few tortuously slow hours, filled with wary exterminators, carrying crates, and explaining the same things over and over again. My arms and legs felt like jelly, my thoughts were little more than mush, and my whole body disagreed with every motion. But I endured it. I couldn’t stop now.
Our first stop had been Jarn. Her and her team were easy enough, their position was right next to where we dropped off Luke, Dusty, and Reno, and she took the weapons without much question. That was where the easiness ended. Dernst’s team was next, and he was apprehensive of Frankie. So were all the others. It was a terrible repeat of what happened at the predator disease facility. Even when faced with what I considered more than enough evidence of their good intentions, they were skeptical. And once again, it was up to me, an exterminator, to smooth things over.
Frankie pulled up to our last stop, and I tapped at my holopad to inform Verlli of our arrival.
Frankie yawned. “Right. Last one.”
I flicked my antennae, shoving the door open. I almost let my guard down. We hadn’t encountered any grays in Tepisil so far, mostly in part to Frankie’s navigation, but that fact only made me more worried rather than relieved. It was like the gentle breeze before the whirlwinds of a storm.
I walked towards the side exit of the building. It was inconspicuous enough, opening into the dark alley we were currently in; just a small opening with dumpsters alongside the walls that stretched upwards for three floors.
I extended a feeler to test the door when it suddenly jerked open at me, making me flinch. Verlli stood in the doorway, and he looked about as tired as my body felt. To no surprise, he looked like he’d been up all night, and his vest had some sort of stain on his left side, where the exterminator’s insignia was. He clicked his mandibles. “It’s about time.”
“You were the last group,” I responded.
“I’m aware. The predator is with you?” He stuck his head out the door, casting wary glances left and right before settling on the human.
“Frankie,” I corrected. “I could use some help getting it upstairs for you.”
“Mar and Cogal are upstairs. Keeping watch.”
“That’s fine.” I turned around, spotting the muscular human already with a pathetic pile of crates stacked beside the truck. Only a few were left inside when he slammed the doors shut. As I approached him, Verlli followed, although kept his distance. He must have recognized Frankie from the predator disease facility.
“Here’s the rest of it.” Frankie huffed. He adjusted his gaze, taking in Verlli’s form. “Hey… Do I know you from somewhere?”
Verlli shifted. “I don’t believe so.” I cast a glance at him for his lie. He tilted an antenna at me, signaling to not pursue it, though I didn't have the energy to do so regardless.
Frankie shrugged. “Fair enough. Well, I’ll leave you gentlemen to it. Don’t take too long, I’m overdue for a nap.”
I grabbed two of the crates. “Thank you, Frankie.”
Verlli waited until the Terran disappeared around the side of the van before inspecting the crates. “This is it?”
“You can complain like the others did, but you won’t get any more.”
“Are they covered in fucking Arxur blood?”
“It’s a long story.” It was, and I had already explained it to all the other teams.
He clicked his mandibles. The silence that hung in the air when he picked up the remaining crates reminded me why I was dreading this meeting. Verlli and I never got along before everything, and that wasn’t helped by his strong anti-human sentiment which had gotten even worse after the PD facility. Most of the other exterminators I’d met with so far didn’t entirely appreciate Frankie, which was why he stayed in the truck for our past few encounters. I had a feeling Verlli would be worse.
I walked inside, waiting for Verlli to take the lead. He passed me. “Working with a predator must be stressful.”
There it is. I waved an antenna in response. It wasn’t worth getting into it with him. Not now, not after all the others who’d said similar things, all trying to antagonize me or get a reaction.
We came to a flight of stairs. “Have you heard about Dirlsil?” he asked.
My interest was piqued. “I don’t believe so…?”
“You know General Ticoid? He was in-”
“Dirlsil. I know.”
“He’s likely dead,” he bluntly stated.
My antennae straightened in shock. “W-What? He had access to all the weapons the UN left behind. How?”
“How do you think?”
“I thought he would’ve… I-I don’t know.”
He turned the corner to the next flight of stairs. “We got news of it just a few minutes before you got here. They don’t have the full details, but they were attempting to relocate when his team suddenly went dark. We think most of them were wiped in an ambush.”
“Has anyone else taken charge?”
“We just got the news,” he bitterly remarked.
I lowered my antennae. “W-What about the shelters?”
“No clue. With no proper leadership, I can’t imagine they’re going to be faring better than the bunker the humans were supposed to defend. Not to mention the loss of personnel over the past week due to our wonderful occupiers.”
“It shouldn’t be like this,” I muttered. “It didn’t have to be like this.”
He wiggled his antennae. “You’re right. It all came down to the actions of… a select few people.”
I looked up at him, wondering what was hidden in his tone. I decided it wasn’t worth pursuing. We came up the final steps, and he led me around a few corners until we came into a room overlooking the street. I could see the entrance to Bunker Five further down the road. Mar and Cogal rose from their sitting position once we entered.
I never interacted with them much, but they hadn’t been a part of the few who were forced into the predator disease facility. I never got a terrible impression of them, which left me wondering why they were with Verlli.
Mar, the slightly taller of the two, approached. “The weapons… this is it?”
Verlli flicked his antennae. “That's all Herq could muster.”
“It’s better than one gun and two mags split between the three of us,” Cogal added.
I tried my best to pretend like Verlli wasn’t there. “I think Reno showed you everything you need to know about these…?”
Verlli scoffed, “You mean that Yotul? The diseased primitive that the predators brought with them?”
“I…” My voice faltered. His words were true enough, but they didn’t sit right with me, in part due to his tone, and after everything I learned.
“Thanks, Herq,” Mar finally said, relinquishing me from my encumberment. “It’s a damn good stroke of luck that you happened to be in Dirlsil when the grays came.”
I was all but ready to leave this planet before that, and I wasn’t even the one who thought of the idea of getting them. My own inaction is the only reason I’m here, and what I have done won’t amount to anything.
I swallowed. “Luck. Yeah.”
“You didn’t see anybody while you were gathering them, did you? I heard-”
“No, he was with his predator,” Verlli interrupted. “If there were any others, they would’ve shot the beast like any sensible exterminator.”
“He’s not a beast,” I stated. “He’s done more than anyone could ever ask for.”
“I’m sure you would think that. You’ve been spending an awful lot of time around the predators, haven’t you?”
I glared at him. “An invasion is hardly a good time to make accusations, Verlli. Especially after what happened at the facility.”
“Funny of you to bring that up. You mean how you froze up like a coward?”
I disregarded the comment. “They came with good intentions, just like any of us would.”
“They killed eleven of our people after that anonymous tip was made.”
“I won’t argue about this. I’m tired.”
He pushed it further. “We’re down a quarter of our forces after that happened. These weapons aren’t going to cut it. It doesn’t make up for the situation you forced us into.”
He was absolutely correct, but he shouldn’t have known why. That was something I was supposed to carry alone, yet his voice dripped with blame that settled heavily into my thoughts like concrete. I had to make a conscious effort to keep my voice from quivering. “You have your weapons. If you have nothing else to add, I’ll be on my way.”
He tilted his head up, and I thought that was the end of that. Neither Mar nor Cogal had anything to say, relegating themselves as bystanders to Verlli’s vitriol. I was ready to leave, and was in the doorway before he threw out one final insult.
“I could see it in you from the first day. I don’t know why Poccel ever let you near him.”
My legs anchored themselves on the floor, and I angled my head back. “I watched Poccel die. Don’t you dare say that.”
“And who is to blame for that?”
I felt my heart creep up my throat. “What are you talking about? Many things went wrong that day.”
“We’re all aware… You know he survived an Arxur raid? Long before you were even a thought in anyone’s mind.”
“I am well aware of his accomplishments,” I angrily clicked.
“His experience would’ve been paramount right now. He worked his ass off for all of us. His entire life, career, what he stood for, gone in an instant. You just carry all that weight around? Like it’s nothing?”
I had the unshakable feeling that he was leading me on, but he was doing an excellent job at pissing me off. “What is your problem with me? Across our planet, millions of people are dying. Being herded into cattle ships. Is there really nothing better you can be doing than lob insults?”
“They aren’t insults. You know as well as we do what you did, what you’re still doing by toting yourself around with that predator.”
“Verlli…” Cogal started.
“No,” the exterminator continued. “I know the truth about what this freak did. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, to see if he showed any self-awareness of his actions before sharing, but he's clearly diseased.”
Verlli was taking this further than I ever would’ve liked. I should've just left, but at this point, it was more than personal. “You don't know what you're talking about.”
“It was you who called the humans. That ‘anonymous tip’?” Verlli looked back at Mar and Cogal. “That was him. He's the reason Poccel’s dead; the reason eleven people died by predators’ hands; the reason the rest of us are going to die in this invasion. He thinks he can drop off a few weapons and it will all be better.”
The other two looked taken aback. I struggled to find my own voice. There was no way he could've known that. I only told the humans immediately after the firefight. Ever since I said the words aloud, they kept coming back to me, pounding into my thoughts collectively with all my other mistakes.
Mar twitched her antennae. “Herq?”
I didn't have a response for her, or even myself. I felt dizzy. My only saving redemption was that I could've carried the guilt all on my own without the others knowing, and now it was gone. There was more to it, but they would never see it. They would only see the bodies, just as I did every time my mind wandered.
“He doesn’t even try to deny it,” Verlli clicked, taking a step towards me. “He knows what he did, and he tries to act like a normal person. Like he isn’t diseased.”
“W-We were locking up our own people…” I managed. I glanced back at Mar and Cogal, but they averted their gaze.
“And you should’ve gone down there with them,” Verlli finished. “If our planet weren’t being bombed, I’d put you away myself, along with all the others who sympathize with the predators. You make me sick.”
“You’re… You’re just as scared as Poccel was.”
“I’m not scared of anything. There’s thousands of ships up there, and I’ve all but accepted my chances. You? You’ve hidden yourself away with the vicious beasts because you think they can save you. They see us as plague-bearing pests, which only makes me wonder what you see yourself as. The vest you’re wearing is a mistake, and the rest of you is no better.”
I took a trembling step towards him before I knew what I was doing. “If I die on Sillis, it will be for what I know is right.”
“We’re all going to die here. I’m going to bring down as many monsters as I can before that happens.”
I took another step. We were now face-to-face, my heart hammering. “If you think I’m a monster, I’m right here.”
Verlli hesitated, as if sizing me up. “Do you want to do this? What the fuck do you think is going to happen?”
“You’re just as blind as he was, too.” I stated, my voice strangely calm. “Everything I’ve done has been to avoid fighting. And no matter what I do, people like you always try your best to ruin it. No amount of convincing or proof will ever be good enough for you. You have eyes, but you can’t see what’s right in front of your face.”
“I see a diseased coward.”
“And that’s all you’ll ever see because that’s all you want to see.”
This close to him, I could feel the heat of his rage. “Get the fuck out of this building.”
I finally backed up. “I didn’t need your permission.”
I could feel their gazes on me as I left the room and casually made my way downstairs. The moment I was out of their sight, I heaved an enormous, painful breath that was building inside me. My legs were trembling as I made my way down the rest of the stairs.
I began clawing at my vest. I felt disgusting wearing it, the exterminator insignia a revolting stain on my body. Verlli was right. I didn’t deserve to wear the thing. My entire experience with it had been one mistake after another.
You did nothing before you ever put it on, and after you did, eleven people were killed.
I burst out the fire exit, heading towards the truck while yanking off the thing. I opened the door to the truck, where Frankie was waiting.
“Hey, what-”
I threw myself into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut behind me. I wadded up the vest as best I could with my supplies still in it and tossed it into the back seat without giving a second glance at it. Frankie had a confused look on his face, but didn’t open his mouth.
“Just drive, p-please. I want to get away from this place.”
He nodded and started the engine. I ran through the confrontation over and over in my head, wishing I’d done everything differently. Wishing I just left before it escalated, or that I’d thought of some more clever response, or that Verlli had simply been respectful for once.
It was self-torture at best. Every time I ran it over again, the outcome was always the same. Ripping off my vest. The damn thing never belonged on me to begin with. I hated it. I hated the reflective suits, I hated the smell of gasoline, and I hated how it never amounted to anything. There was always another predator attack, or a sighting, or a drill. And there were always the scared people who expected me to save the day.
I had nothing to offer them. It was always an empty promise that I gave them, something I knew I could never fulfill.
Now the facade was gone for good. Everyone would know what I was. A mistake.
I just wanted to help. To improve the lives of the people around me. Formi knows that’s all I ever wanted.
“That Verlli guy is a massive prick,” Frankie abruptly said. “I reckon he said some proper nonsense.”
My breathing hitched at Frankie’s sudden voice. His gaze hadn’t left the road, and his expression didn’t betray anything unusual. “Y-You knew…?” I managed.
“I knew he recognized me the moment I saw him. Spineless mongrel.”
I ran my feelers over my antennae over and over. I felt like huddling in a corner and falling asleep forever. I didn’t belong anywhere with anyone.
Suddenly there was a warmth on my chitin. “You’re one of the best people I know, Herq.”
I almost pulled away from the touch. “W-What?”
“I mean it,” the human stated. “I don’t know what happened back there, but I honestly don’t care. You’ve already done more than anyone could ask of you, and you’re still doin’ it.”
He withdrew his hand, leaving a sudden coldness where it was.
I had no idea what to say. Or what to think, even. My own people thought I was a diseased monster, while a predator—one of the same my government opted to bomb to extinction—thought I was a good person.
A wave of nausea rolled through me like a harsh stormfront. “I-I don’t know what I’m doing. Everything—everything—is wrong.”
“Are you trying?”
My body didn’t want to respond. My mandibles refused to move and my feelers were plastered to my antennae. I took control of what little I could and awkwardly bobbed my head forward and back in a bizarre motion.
He returned the gesture. “So am I. Can’t ask much more from me, I reckon.”
I sucked in a shaky breath of air. I gradually, laboriously withdrew my feelers from my antennae. They still felt like bricks on my head.
“Sky’s getting lighter, perfect time for a nap once we get back,” Frankie remarked. He faced me, eyes tired yet still so full. “How’s that sound?”
“It… It sounds good.”
—
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Thanks to u/WCR_706 for proofreading. And, of course, thanks to SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe.
submitted by TriBiscuit to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
—
Memory transcription subject: Herq, Tilfish Junior Exterminator
Date [standardized human time]: December 4th, 2136
I was so tired. My body ached from the last few tortuously slow hours, filled with wary exterminators, carrying crates, and explaining the same things over and over again. My arms and legs felt like jelly, my thoughts were little more than mush, and my whole body disagreed with every motion. But I endured it. I couldn’t stop now.
Our first stop had been Jarn. Her and her team were easy enough, their position was right next to where we dropped off Luke, Dusty, and Reno, and she took the weapons without much question. That was where the easiness ended. Dernst’s team was next, and he was apprehensive of Frankie. So were all the others. It was a terrible repeat of what happened at the predator disease facility. Even when faced with what I considered more than enough evidence of their good intentions, they were skeptical. And once again, it was up to me, an exterminator, to smooth things over.
Frankie pulled up to our last stop, and I tapped at my holopad to inform Verlli of our arrival.
Frankie yawned. “Right. Last one.”
I flicked my antennae, shoving the door open. I almost let my guard down. We hadn’t encountered any grays in Tepisil so far, mostly in part to Frankie’s navigation, but that fact only made me more worried rather than relieved. It was like the gentle breeze before the whirlwinds of a storm.
I walked towards the side exit of the building. It was inconspicuous enough, opening into the dark alley we were currently in; just a small opening with dumpsters alongside the walls that stretched upwards for three floors.
I extended a feeler to test the door when it suddenly jerked open at me, making me flinch. Verlli stood in the doorway, and he looked about as tired as my body felt. To no surprise, he looked like he’d been up all night, and his vest had some sort of stain on his left side, where the exterminator’s insignia was. He clicked his mandibles. “It’s about time.”
“You were the last group,” I responded.
“I’m aware. The predator is with you?” He stuck his head out the door, casting wary glances left and right before settling on the human.
“Frankie,” I corrected. “I could use some help getting it upstairs for you.”
“Mar and Cogal are upstairs. Keeping watch.”
“That’s fine.” I turned around, spotting the muscular human already with a pathetic pile of crates stacked beside the truck. Only a few were left inside when he slammed the doors shut. As I approached him, Verlli followed, although kept his distance. He must have recognized Frankie from the predator disease facility.
“Here’s the rest of it.” Frankie huffed. He adjusted his gaze, taking in Verlli’s form. “Hey… Do I know you from somewhere?”
Verlli shifted. “I don’t believe so.” I cast a glance at him for his lie. He tilted an antenna at me, signaling to not pursue it, though I didn't have the energy to do so regardless.
Frankie shrugged. “Fair enough. Well, I’ll leave you gentlemen to it. Don’t take too long, I’m overdue for a nap.”
I grabbed two of the crates. “Thank you, Frankie.”
Verlli waited until the Terran disappeared around the side of the van before inspecting the crates. “This is it?”
“You can complain like the others did, but you won’t get any more.”
“Are they covered in fucking Arxur blood?”
“It’s a long story.” It was, and I had already explained it to all the other teams.
He clicked his mandibles. The silence that hung in the air when he picked up the remaining crates reminded me why I was dreading this meeting. Verlli and I never got along before everything, and that wasn’t helped by his strong anti-human sentiment which had gotten even worse after the PD facility. Most of the other exterminators I’d met with so far didn’t entirely appreciate Frankie, which was why he stayed in the truck for our past few encounters. I had a feeling Verlli would be worse.
I walked inside, waiting for Verlli to take the lead. He passed me. “Working with a predator must be stressful.”
There it is. I waved an antenna in response. It wasn’t worth getting into it with him. Not now, not after all the others who’d said similar things, all trying to antagonize me or get a reaction.
We came to a flight of stairs. “Have you heard about Dirlsil?” he asked.
My interest was piqued. “I don’t believe so…?”
“You know General Ticoid? He was in-”
“Dirlsil. I know.”
“He’s likely dead,” he bluntly stated.
My antennae straightened in shock. “W-What? He had access to all the weapons the UN left behind. How?”
“How do you think?”
“I thought he would’ve… I-I don’t know.”
He turned the corner to the next flight of stairs. “We got news of it just a few minutes before you got here. They don’t have the full details, but they were attempting to relocate when his team suddenly went dark. We think most of them were wiped in an ambush.”
“Has anyone else taken charge?”
“We just got the news,” he bitterly remarked.
I lowered my antennae. “W-What about the shelters?”
“No clue. With no proper leadership, I can’t imagine they’re going to be faring better than the bunker the humans were supposed to defend. Not to mention the loss of personnel over the past week due to our wonderful occupiers.”
“It shouldn’t be like this,” I muttered. “It didn’t have to be like this.”
He wiggled his antennae. “You’re right. It all came down to the actions of… a select few people.”
I looked up at him, wondering what was hidden in his tone. I decided it wasn’t worth pursuing. We came up the final steps, and he led me around a few corners until we came into a room overlooking the street. I could see the entrance to Bunker Five further down the road. Mar and Cogal rose from their sitting position once we entered.
I never interacted with them much, but they hadn’t been a part of the few who were forced into the predator disease facility. I never got a terrible impression of them, which left me wondering why they were with Verlli.
Mar, the slightly taller of the two, approached. “The weapons… this is it?”
Verlli flicked his antennae. “That's all Herq could muster.”
“It’s better than one gun and two mags split between the three of us,” Cogal added.
I tried my best to pretend like Verlli wasn’t there. “I think Reno showed you everything you need to know about these…?”
Verlli scoffed, “You mean that Yotul? The diseased primitive that the predators brought with them?”
“I…” My voice faltered. His words were true enough, but they didn’t sit right with me, in part due to his tone, and after everything I learned.
“Thanks, Herq,” Mar finally said, relinquishing me from my encumberment. “It’s a damn good stroke of luck that you happened to be in Dirlsil when the grays came.”
I was all but ready to leave this planet before that, and I wasn’t even the one who thought of the idea of getting them. My own inaction is the only reason I’m here, and what I have done won’t amount to anything.
I swallowed. “Luck. Yeah.”
“You didn’t see anybody while you were gathering them, did you? I heard-”
“No, he was with his predator,” Verlli interrupted. “If there were any others, they would’ve shot the beast like any sensible exterminator.”
“He’s not a beast,” I stated. “He’s done more than anyone could ever ask for.”
“I’m sure you would think that. You’ve been spending an awful lot of time around the predators, haven’t you?”
I glared at him. “An invasion is hardly a good time to make accusations, Verlli. Especially after what happened at the facility.”
“Funny of you to bring that up. You mean how you froze up like a coward?”
I disregarded the comment. “They came with good intentions, just like any of us would.”
“They killed eleven of our people after that anonymous tip was made.”
“I won’t argue about this. I’m tired.”
He pushed it further. “We’re down a quarter of our forces after that happened. These weapons aren’t going to cut it. It doesn’t make up for the situation you forced us into.”
He was absolutely correct, but he shouldn’t have known why. That was something I was supposed to carry alone, yet his voice dripped with blame that settled heavily into my thoughts like concrete. I had to make a conscious effort to keep my voice from quivering. “You have your weapons. If you have nothing else to add, I’ll be on my way.”
He tilted his head up, and I thought that was the end of that. Neither Mar nor Cogal had anything to say, relegating themselves as bystanders to Verlli’s vitriol. I was ready to leave, and was in the doorway before he threw out one final insult.
“I could see it in you from the first day. I don’t know why Poccel ever let you near him.”
My legs anchored themselves on the floor, and I angled my head back. “I watched Poccel die. Don’t you dare say that.”
“And who is to blame for that?”
I felt my heart creep up my throat. “What are you talking about? Many things went wrong that day.”
“We’re all aware… You know he survived an Arxur raid? Long before you were even a thought in anyone’s mind.”
“I am well aware of his accomplishments,” I angrily clicked.
“His experience would’ve been paramount right now. He worked his ass off for all of us. His entire life, career, what he stood for, gone in an instant. You just carry all that weight around? Like it’s nothing?”
I had the unshakable feeling that he was leading me on, but he was doing an excellent job at pissing me off. “What is your problem with me? Across our planet, millions of people are dying. Being herded into cattle ships. Is there really nothing better you can be doing than lob insults?”
“They aren’t insults. You know as well as we do what you did, what you’re still doing by toting yourself around with that predator.”
“Verlli…” Cogal started.
“No,” the exterminator continued. “I know the truth about what this freak did. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, to see if he showed any self-awareness of his actions before sharing, but he's clearly diseased.”
Verlli was taking this further than I ever would’ve liked. I should've just left, but at this point, it was more than personal. “You don't know what you're talking about.”
“It was you who called the humans. That ‘anonymous tip’?” Verlli looked back at Mar and Cogal. “That was him. He's the reason Poccel’s dead; the reason eleven people died by predators’ hands; the reason the rest of us are going to die in this invasion. He thinks he can drop off a few weapons and it will all be better.”
The other two looked taken aback. I struggled to find my own voice. There was no way he could've known that. I only told the humans immediately after the firefight. Ever since I said the words aloud, they kept coming back to me, pounding into my thoughts collectively with all my other mistakes.
Mar twitched her antennae. “Herq?”
I didn't have a response for her, or even myself. I felt dizzy. My only saving redemption was that I could've carried the guilt all on my own without the others knowing, and now it was gone. There was more to it, but they would never see it. They would only see the bodies, just as I did every time my mind wandered.
“He doesn’t even try to deny it,” Verlli clicked, taking a step towards me. “He knows what he did, and he tries to act like a normal person. Like he isn’t diseased.”
“W-We were locking up our own people…” I managed. I glanced back at Mar and Cogal, but they averted their gaze.
“And you should’ve gone down there with them,” Verlli finished. “If our planet weren’t being bombed, I’d put you away myself, along with all the others who sympathize with the predators. You make me sick.”
“You’re… You’re just as scared as Poccel was.”
“I’m not scared of anything. There’s thousands of ships up there, and I’ve all but accepted my chances. You? You’ve hidden yourself away with the vicious beasts because you think they can save you. They see us as plague-bearing pests, which only makes me wonder what you see yourself as. The vest you’re wearing is a mistake, and the rest of you is no better.”
I took a trembling step towards him before I knew what I was doing. “If I die on Sillis, it will be for what I know is right.”
“We’re all going to die here. I’m going to bring down as many monsters as I can before that happens.”
I took another step. We were now face-to-face, my heart hammering. “If you think I’m a monster, I’m right here.”
Verlli hesitated, as if sizing me up. “Do you want to do this? What the fuck do you think is going to happen?”
“You’re just as blind as he was, too.” I stated, my voice strangely calm. “Everything I’ve done has been to avoid fighting. And no matter what I do, people like you always try your best to ruin it. No amount of convincing or proof will ever be good enough for you. You have eyes, but you can’t see what’s right in front of your face.”
“I see a diseased coward.”
“And that’s all you’ll ever see because that’s all you want to see.”
This close to him, I could feel the heat of his rage. “Get the fuck out of this building.”
I finally backed up. “I didn’t need your permission.”
I could feel their gazes on me as I left the room and casually made my way downstairs. The moment I was out of their sight, I heaved an enormous, painful breath that was building inside me. My legs were trembling as I made my way down the rest of the stairs.
I began clawing at my vest. I felt disgusting wearing it, the exterminator insignia a revolting stain on my body. Verlli was right. I didn’t deserve to wear the thing. My entire experience with it had been one mistake after another.
You did nothing before you ever put it on, and after you did, eleven people were killed.
I burst out the fire exit, heading towards the truck while yanking off the thing. I opened the door to the truck, where Frankie was waiting.
“Hey, what-”
I threw myself into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut behind me. I wadded up the vest as best I could with my supplies still in it and tossed it into the back seat without giving a second glance at it. Frankie had a confused look on his face, but didn’t open his mouth.
“Just drive, p-please. I want to get away from this place.”
He nodded and started the engine. I ran through the confrontation over and over in my head, wishing I’d done everything differently. Wishing I just left before it escalated, or that I’d thought of some more clever response, or that Verlli had simply been respectful for once.
It was self-torture at best. Every time I ran it over again, the outcome was always the same. Ripping off my vest. The damn thing never belonged on me to begin with. I hated it. I hated the reflective suits, I hated the smell of gasoline, and I hated how it never amounted to anything. There was always another predator attack, or a sighting, or a drill. And there were always the scared people who expected me to save the day.
I had nothing to offer them. It was always an empty promise that I gave them, something I knew I could never fulfill.
Now the facade was gone for good. Everyone would know what I was. A mistake.
I just wanted to help. To improve the lives of the people around me. Formi knows that’s all I ever wanted.
“That Verlli guy is a massive prick,” Frankie abruptly said. “I reckon he said some proper nonsense.”
My breathing hitched at Frankie’s sudden voice. His gaze hadn’t left the road, and his expression didn’t betray anything unusual. “Y-You knew…?” I managed.
“I knew he recognized me the moment I saw him. Spineless mongrel.”
I ran my feelers over my antennae over and over. I felt like huddling in a corner and falling asleep forever. I didn’t belong anywhere with anyone.
Suddenly there was a warmth on my chitin. “You’re one of the best people I know, Herq.”
I almost pulled away from the touch. “W-What?”
“I mean it,” the human stated. “I don’t know what happened back there, but I honestly don’t care. You’ve already done more than anyone could ask of you, and you’re still doin’ it.”
He withdrew his hand, leaving a sudden coldness where it was.
I had no idea what to say. Or what to think, even. My own people thought I was a diseased monster, while a predator—one of the same my government opted to bomb to extinction—thought I was a good person.
A wave of nausea rolled through me like a harsh stormfront. “I-I don’t know what I’m doing. Everything—everything—is wrong.”
“Are you trying?”
My body didn’t want to respond. My mandibles refused to move and my feelers were plastered to my antennae. I took control of what little I could and awkwardly bobbed my head forward and back in a bizarre motion.
He returned the gesture. “So am I. Can’t ask much more from me, I reckon.”
I sucked in a shaky breath of air. I gradually, laboriously withdrew my feelers from my antennae. They still felt like bricks on my head.
“Sky’s getting lighter, perfect time for a nap once we get back,” Frankie remarked. He faced me, eyes tired yet still so full. “How’s that sound?”
“It… It sounds good.”
—
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Thanks to u/WCR_706 for proofreading. And, of course, thanks to SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe.
2024.05.29 16:48 DefiantDetective5 Transcript of Karen Read talking to Nightline (Aug 2023)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qVSfvON1Ww&ab_channel=ABCNews
Outside this courthouse in Canton, Massachusetts, supporters swarmed around Karen Reed, charged with murder in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe.
Reed has strenuously denied the allegations: "I did not kill John O'Keefe. I've never harmed a hair on John O'Keefe's head."
Her defense, bare-knuckled and bold, is making national headlines.
Her lawyers allege in court documents that a fellow police officer was involved in O'Keefe's death and colluded with others in a cover-up.
INTERVIEWER: "You're alleging that law enforcement officials in the state committed murder and that they're covering it up. Why would they want to be involved in this?"
KAREN READ: "Because he's dead. I think things went too far. It was late, there was alcohol involved, but they're all family and there's many of them involved."
After posting bail, Reed has spent much of the past 18 months in and out of court, awaiting a trial date.
KAREN READ: "Me and my family and my attorneys and my team have marshaled every resource to get to the truth."
Prosecutors allege that Reed hit O'Keefe with her car after getting into an argument earlier in the day, leaving him to die in the middle of a snowstorm in January 2022.
But Reed says she had no reason to harm her boyfriend.
KAREN READ: "I would call him the patron saint of Canton. He was just very selfless, frugal, and I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that didn't care for John."
The couple first dated in their 20s and reconnected more than a decade later in the middle of the pandemic.
KAREN READ: "He had reached out to me on Facebook and he said, 'From the past, how's things?' And when I saw his picture, his profile picture was with several young children. And then it triggered my memory that his sister and his sister's husband had passed away. And he told me, 'Yeah, I have the kids now.' I admired that. I thought that was amazing."
Soon, Reed says, she became part of the family, often sleeping over at O'Keefe's house and helping take care of the kids.
KAREN READ: "He would go to work and I would stay with his niece and nephew. All of the breaks that the kids had, we did something."
But their relationship also had its struggles. Reed says O'Keefe had been relying more on her to take care of the kids and that he criticized some of the decisions she made with them.
KAREN READ: "We had had an argument on New Year's Eve. They were on vacation and he became incoherently drunk, and I ended up ringing in the New Year with his niece and nephew. John didn't come back to our room till after 3 A.M. So that was rough. I felt very much taken and taken advantage of. He apologized profusely for what happened on New Year's Eve, and he said, 'If you can't get over it, then you need to spend some time at your house. I can't keep apologizing. I don't want to keep rehashing this.'"
A few weeks later, they were invited to meet up with some friends at the Waterfall Bar in Canton, and there they ran into Brian Albert, a fellow Boston police officer who Reed says O'Keefe looked up to. Albert had led the city's gang unit before commanding The Fugitive Apprehension Team, the elite squad responsible for taking down some of the city's most dangerous criminals and featured in the 2013 TNT show "Boston's Finest."
INTERVIEWER: "One minute we're walking around, everything's fine, and then one minute it's not fine."
KAREN READ: Both times I met Brian Albert, he seemed like the type of person that you'd be surprised he's out socially because he doesn't seem like he ever wants to be there."
But at the bar, Reed says there was an invitation to continue hanging out at Albert's home.
KAREN READ: "I said, 'Can we make sure we're welcome here?' Nobody extended the invite to me. I didn't hear the invite extended to you."
They drive to the Alberts' house. What happens next is disputed.
KAREN READ: "So I pull at the foot of the driveway. It's snowing. John has no coat on. It's windy. So I drop him off. He goes up the driveway and approaches the side door, and as I see him approach the door, I look down at my phone."
Read says after about 10 minutes of waiting in her car, she became irritated that O'Keefe still hadn't gotten in touch with her, and she drove back to his home, where she continued calling him before she says she fell asleep around 1:30 in the morning.
She then says she woke up before 5 a.m. He still wasn't home. She then started canvassing the neighborhood.
KAREN READ: "I'm going to drive around in the two square miles that we spent the preceding night."
After 20 minutes of unsuccessful searching, she called John's friends, Kerry Roberts and Jennifer McCabe, Brian Albert's sister-in-law, who was also at his house the night before. The three women together now headed to Albert's home.
INTERVIEWER: "How soon was it when you pulled in there that you saw John's body?"
KAREN READ: "Immediately. And what struck me when I saw him was his mouth was open a little bit, and his eyes were shut, and he had spots of blood in different areas on his face."
O'Keefe was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. He died from blunt force trauma and hypothermia, and it wasn't long before Reed became the number one suspect.
Authorities say they had noticed a cracked taillight after they seized her car.
KAREN READ: "I had told both Jen and Kerry that I cracked my taillight. I said, 'I just hit my car on top of everything, but I didn't look at the damage.' And both women said, 'It's cracked, it's cracked, calm down. You cracked your taillight. You're okay. Let's go look for John.'"
But according to police statements, Jennifer McCabe told authorities that while they were looking for O'Keefe, Reed stated, "Could I have hit him? Did I hit him?"
When O'Keefe's body was discovered, first responders who arrived on the scene say they overheard Reed make other statements.
INTERVIEWER: "Firefighter said that you said, 'I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.'"
KAREN READ: "I said, 'I hit him.' It was preceded by a 'did' and proceeded by a question mark. What I thought could have happened was that did I incapacitate him unwittingly somehow and then in his drunkenness, passed out."
INTERVIEWER: "When you walked out of the bar, how many drinks had you had?"
KAREN READ: "I had had probably about four."
INTERVIEWER: "The Commonwealth says that you had nine drinks that night. That's what the prosecution says."
KAREN READ: "I don't believe. They're saying I wasn't in my right mind."
INTERVIEWER: "Well, they were saying you were intoxicated. Is it possible that you might have hit him unwittingly in your admittedly very large SUV?"
KAREN READ: "No, not possible."
Three days after O'Keefe was found dead, investigators arrested Reed for manslaughter. She was eventually indicted on second-degree murder.
Investigators reported they found fragments of broken glass on the rear bumper of Reed's vehicle and that a broken cocktail glass was found by what appeared to be patches of blood near O'Keefe's body.
LALLY: "The victim, Mr. O'Keefe, is last observed on surveillance video with a glass in his right hand, the same arm as injured, the same type of glass that is then recovered from the bumper of the defendant's car."
In court documents, the prosecution also claims that Reed's blood alcohol level could have been between .13 and .29 percent, above the legal limit of .08.
In addition, they say pieces of Reed's taillight were found on the scene the day O'Keefe's body was discovered. More fragments of that taillight were found the following week, according to Canton police reports, after the snow melted, which revealed more at the scene.
But Reed's attorney, Alan Jackson, has a different theory about how those fragments of taillight got there.
ALAN JACKSON: "Those pieces of taillight were placed there after the fact."
INTERVIEWER: "You're saying evidence was planted."
ALAN JACKSON: "The pieces of taillight were planted after the fact."
INTERVIEWER: "What does the defense believe actually happened to John after Karen dropped him off?"
ALAN JACKSON: "I think he walked into the house. I think he was confronted, was likely brought down to the basement. I think that confrontation got physical and he was beaten. He was beaten to a point of unconsciousness."
Jackson argues that the autopsy photos of O'Keefe support his theory and not the prosecution's claim.
ALAN JACKSON: "It looks like he's been in a fist fight and he's been beaten. He's got some defensive wound bruises on the backs of his hands. He's got this massive laceration on the back of his head, a big giant gash about two and a half inches, exactly lateral, going from left to right. Two black eyes, cut over his right eye, cut over his nose. This was a cover-up, that John was murdered inside that house. His body was placed outside."
But in a statement to ABC News, the prosecution says there was no conspiracy or cover-up.
DA Statement: "Such claims have been systematically refuted by evidence submitted to Norfolk Superior Court."
The prosecution also said that according to O'Keefe's cell phone GPS records and 11 witness statements, O'Keefe never entered Albert's home and that a medical examiner found no signs of Mr. O'Keefe being involved in any type of physical altercation or fight.
Lally: "There's no evidence that Mr. O'Keefe was beaten and left for dead. There was no evidence of any defensive wounds."
submitted by DefiantDetective5 to KarenReadTrial [link] [comments]
Outside this courthouse in Canton, Massachusetts, supporters swarmed around Karen Reed, charged with murder in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe.
Reed has strenuously denied the allegations: "I did not kill John O'Keefe. I've never harmed a hair on John O'Keefe's head."
Her defense, bare-knuckled and bold, is making national headlines.
Her lawyers allege in court documents that a fellow police officer was involved in O'Keefe's death and colluded with others in a cover-up.
INTERVIEWER: "You're alleging that law enforcement officials in the state committed murder and that they're covering it up. Why would they want to be involved in this?"
KAREN READ: "Because he's dead. I think things went too far. It was late, there was alcohol involved, but they're all family and there's many of them involved."
After posting bail, Reed has spent much of the past 18 months in and out of court, awaiting a trial date.
KAREN READ: "Me and my family and my attorneys and my team have marshaled every resource to get to the truth."
Prosecutors allege that Reed hit O'Keefe with her car after getting into an argument earlier in the day, leaving him to die in the middle of a snowstorm in January 2022.
But Reed says she had no reason to harm her boyfriend.
KAREN READ: "I would call him the patron saint of Canton. He was just very selfless, frugal, and I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that didn't care for John."
The couple first dated in their 20s and reconnected more than a decade later in the middle of the pandemic.
KAREN READ: "He had reached out to me on Facebook and he said, 'From the past, how's things?' And when I saw his picture, his profile picture was with several young children. And then it triggered my memory that his sister and his sister's husband had passed away. And he told me, 'Yeah, I have the kids now.' I admired that. I thought that was amazing."
Soon, Reed says, she became part of the family, often sleeping over at O'Keefe's house and helping take care of the kids.
KAREN READ: "He would go to work and I would stay with his niece and nephew. All of the breaks that the kids had, we did something."
But their relationship also had its struggles. Reed says O'Keefe had been relying more on her to take care of the kids and that he criticized some of the decisions she made with them.
KAREN READ: "We had had an argument on New Year's Eve. They were on vacation and he became incoherently drunk, and I ended up ringing in the New Year with his niece and nephew. John didn't come back to our room till after 3 A.M. So that was rough. I felt very much taken and taken advantage of. He apologized profusely for what happened on New Year's Eve, and he said, 'If you can't get over it, then you need to spend some time at your house. I can't keep apologizing. I don't want to keep rehashing this.'"
A few weeks later, they were invited to meet up with some friends at the Waterfall Bar in Canton, and there they ran into Brian Albert, a fellow Boston police officer who Reed says O'Keefe looked up to. Albert had led the city's gang unit before commanding The Fugitive Apprehension Team, the elite squad responsible for taking down some of the city's most dangerous criminals and featured in the 2013 TNT show "Boston's Finest."
INTERVIEWER: "One minute we're walking around, everything's fine, and then one minute it's not fine."
KAREN READ: Both times I met Brian Albert, he seemed like the type of person that you'd be surprised he's out socially because he doesn't seem like he ever wants to be there."
But at the bar, Reed says there was an invitation to continue hanging out at Albert's home.
KAREN READ: "I said, 'Can we make sure we're welcome here?' Nobody extended the invite to me. I didn't hear the invite extended to you."
They drive to the Alberts' house. What happens next is disputed.
KAREN READ: "So I pull at the foot of the driveway. It's snowing. John has no coat on. It's windy. So I drop him off. He goes up the driveway and approaches the side door, and as I see him approach the door, I look down at my phone."
Read says after about 10 minutes of waiting in her car, she became irritated that O'Keefe still hadn't gotten in touch with her, and she drove back to his home, where she continued calling him before she says she fell asleep around 1:30 in the morning.
She then says she woke up before 5 a.m. He still wasn't home. She then started canvassing the neighborhood.
KAREN READ: "I'm going to drive around in the two square miles that we spent the preceding night."
After 20 minutes of unsuccessful searching, she called John's friends, Kerry Roberts and Jennifer McCabe, Brian Albert's sister-in-law, who was also at his house the night before. The three women together now headed to Albert's home.
INTERVIEWER: "How soon was it when you pulled in there that you saw John's body?"
KAREN READ: "Immediately. And what struck me when I saw him was his mouth was open a little bit, and his eyes were shut, and he had spots of blood in different areas on his face."
O'Keefe was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. He died from blunt force trauma and hypothermia, and it wasn't long before Reed became the number one suspect.
Authorities say they had noticed a cracked taillight after they seized her car.
KAREN READ: "I had told both Jen and Kerry that I cracked my taillight. I said, 'I just hit my car on top of everything, but I didn't look at the damage.' And both women said, 'It's cracked, it's cracked, calm down. You cracked your taillight. You're okay. Let's go look for John.'"
But according to police statements, Jennifer McCabe told authorities that while they were looking for O'Keefe, Reed stated, "Could I have hit him? Did I hit him?"
When O'Keefe's body was discovered, first responders who arrived on the scene say they overheard Reed make other statements.
INTERVIEWER: "Firefighter said that you said, 'I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.'"
KAREN READ: "I said, 'I hit him.' It was preceded by a 'did' and proceeded by a question mark. What I thought could have happened was that did I incapacitate him unwittingly somehow and then in his drunkenness, passed out."
INTERVIEWER: "When you walked out of the bar, how many drinks had you had?"
KAREN READ: "I had had probably about four."
INTERVIEWER: "The Commonwealth says that you had nine drinks that night. That's what the prosecution says."
KAREN READ: "I don't believe. They're saying I wasn't in my right mind."
INTERVIEWER: "Well, they were saying you were intoxicated. Is it possible that you might have hit him unwittingly in your admittedly very large SUV?"
KAREN READ: "No, not possible."
Three days after O'Keefe was found dead, investigators arrested Reed for manslaughter. She was eventually indicted on second-degree murder.
Investigators reported they found fragments of broken glass on the rear bumper of Reed's vehicle and that a broken cocktail glass was found by what appeared to be patches of blood near O'Keefe's body.
LALLY: "The victim, Mr. O'Keefe, is last observed on surveillance video with a glass in his right hand, the same arm as injured, the same type of glass that is then recovered from the bumper of the defendant's car."
In court documents, the prosecution also claims that Reed's blood alcohol level could have been between .13 and .29 percent, above the legal limit of .08.
In addition, they say pieces of Reed's taillight were found on the scene the day O'Keefe's body was discovered. More fragments of that taillight were found the following week, according to Canton police reports, after the snow melted, which revealed more at the scene.
But Reed's attorney, Alan Jackson, has a different theory about how those fragments of taillight got there.
ALAN JACKSON: "Those pieces of taillight were placed there after the fact."
INTERVIEWER: "You're saying evidence was planted."
ALAN JACKSON: "The pieces of taillight were planted after the fact."
INTERVIEWER: "What does the defense believe actually happened to John after Karen dropped him off?"
ALAN JACKSON: "I think he walked into the house. I think he was confronted, was likely brought down to the basement. I think that confrontation got physical and he was beaten. He was beaten to a point of unconsciousness."
Jackson argues that the autopsy photos of O'Keefe support his theory and not the prosecution's claim.
ALAN JACKSON: "It looks like he's been in a fist fight and he's been beaten. He's got some defensive wound bruises on the backs of his hands. He's got this massive laceration on the back of his head, a big giant gash about two and a half inches, exactly lateral, going from left to right. Two black eyes, cut over his right eye, cut over his nose. This was a cover-up, that John was murdered inside that house. His body was placed outside."
But in a statement to ABC News, the prosecution says there was no conspiracy or cover-up.
DA Statement: "Such claims have been systematically refuted by evidence submitted to Norfolk Superior Court."
The prosecution also said that according to O'Keefe's cell phone GPS records and 11 witness statements, O'Keefe never entered Albert's home and that a medical examiner found no signs of Mr. O'Keefe being involved in any type of physical altercation or fight.
Lally: "There's no evidence that Mr. O'Keefe was beaten and left for dead. There was no evidence of any defensive wounds."
2024.05.29 04:11 NamjoonsGoblin My boyfriend (18M) is super stressed and I (18F) feel it is starting to impact our relationship. How can I be more accommodating to him?
My boyfriend (18M) and I (18F) have been together for 7 months now and we are each other's first relationship. We are both college students and are currently on summer break. I am only working one part time job, and he is working 2 part time jobs, taking night classes, and training to be a firefighter as well. Obviously, he is really stressed, and I feel like it is starting to impact our relationship. Earlier today, we were having a nice date together and it was going perfectly fine until we got back to my house. We had made plans for later in the week to see each other but had nothing set and stone. When we got back to my house, I got a text from my manager to work on the day we planned to hang out. My shift will end at 5, so I asked him if it was fine for us to hang out after my shift since I never get scheduled and I need the money. He told me no, nothing will be open, there will be nothing for us to do, and that he will be tired anyways because his shift at one of his jobs ended at 2. I had thought this was a bit odd but ignored it and we went and hung out in my room. He was being quiet the whole time, not reciprocating any affection I was trying to show him, wouldn't even entertain me when I was trying to cheer him up, and swatting my hand away when I tried to tickle him (we tickle each other all the time, more him tickling me than me tickling him). Eventually he left my house, and I had other things to do. He texted me when he got home saying that he was sorry and that he is stressed and that he still wants to see me. I forgave him, talked to my mom about it, and she said that he was probably having an off day. But these off days are becoming more normal than I would like.
Last week we had a date together and it was great until we got to his house to hang out at after. He fell asleep immediately with his back to me and not even touching me. I felt invisible, ignored, and a bit upset so I started to gather my stuff to leave. Something that I think is important to take note of is that I just started birth control pills, and it has been making me a bit more reactive and sensitive than normal. He did not want me to leave his house in that state because I was on the verge of tears. I told him how I felt ignored and he kept apologizing and beating himself up over it and I told him it was okay. I left, started sobbing immediately, he went inside and also started sobbing. I had to pull over into a local park and cry because I was in no state to drive properly. I called him 6 times and left voicemails while I was crying but he never picked up because he was also sobbing. I left the park I was in after about 20 minutes and he called me while I was driving but I did not pick up, he called me again when I got home (we have each other's locations on) and cried on call together. He, again, told me that it was because he is so stressed.
I don't know what to do, I want to be more accommodating to the amount of stress he is under, but I hate the way that he is making me feel because of it. I want to be a good girlfriend and help him as much as I can, but I feel that I've been crying and getting upset every time I see him. I have let him know many times that I want to be a rock for him, I want to listen to him, and do anything I can to alleviate any stress in any way I can. Does anyone have any advice on what to do?
Sorry for any grammar or spelling errors, I am just stressed :(
TLDR my boyfriend is stressed from his busy schedule, and I hate how his behavior from the stress is making me feel and I do not know what to do
submitted by NamjoonsGoblin to relationship_advice [link] [comments]
Last week we had a date together and it was great until we got to his house to hang out at after. He fell asleep immediately with his back to me and not even touching me. I felt invisible, ignored, and a bit upset so I started to gather my stuff to leave. Something that I think is important to take note of is that I just started birth control pills, and it has been making me a bit more reactive and sensitive than normal. He did not want me to leave his house in that state because I was on the verge of tears. I told him how I felt ignored and he kept apologizing and beating himself up over it and I told him it was okay. I left, started sobbing immediately, he went inside and also started sobbing. I had to pull over into a local park and cry because I was in no state to drive properly. I called him 6 times and left voicemails while I was crying but he never picked up because he was also sobbing. I left the park I was in after about 20 minutes and he called me while I was driving but I did not pick up, he called me again when I got home (we have each other's locations on) and cried on call together. He, again, told me that it was because he is so stressed.
I don't know what to do, I want to be more accommodating to the amount of stress he is under, but I hate the way that he is making me feel because of it. I want to be a good girlfriend and help him as much as I can, but I feel that I've been crying and getting upset every time I see him. I have let him know many times that I want to be a rock for him, I want to listen to him, and do anything I can to alleviate any stress in any way I can. Does anyone have any advice on what to do?
Sorry for any grammar or spelling errors, I am just stressed :(
TLDR my boyfriend is stressed from his busy schedule, and I hate how his behavior from the stress is making me feel and I do not know what to do
2024.05.28 23:36 NateSilverFan NYT: Eyeing Trump, but on the Fence: How Tuned-Out Voters Could Decide 2024 (Politically disengaged Americans are increasingly Trump-curious, but President Biden has a shot at winning some of them back. Reaching them in a changed media environment will be his challenge.)
Joe Perez is exactly the type of voter President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump are fighting over: A 22-year-old Hispanic man in Las Vegas who grew up leaning Republican, he also supports abortion rights and was turned off by the Capitol rioters on Jan. 6, 2021.
But Mr. Perez — unenthusiastic about a Biden-Trump rematch, overwhelmed by the news and disillusioned by politics — is tuning out.
“If you ask me right now what’s going on with, like, the presidential race, or the situation in Gaza or Ukraine or whatever, I don’t think I can answer,” said Mr. Perez, who supported Mr. Trump in 2020 and is intrigued by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now. “I’m not trying to follow that anymore.”
Instead, said Mr. Perez, a valet who hopes to become a firefighter, “I’m just going to have to roll with the punches, because I don’t think I’m going to make a difference.”
In fact, people like him could be quite important.
Politically disengaged Americans are emerging as one of the most unpredictable, complex and potentially influential groups of voters in the 2024 race. They are fueling Mr. Trump’s current polling leads but in many cases hail from traditionally Democratic communities, giving Mr. Biden a chance to win some of them back — if he can get their attention.
No shortage of events could jolt alienated voters over the next five months, starting with a verdict in the first criminal trial of a former president in American history, which could arrive this week. Even though many of these people are historically infrequent voters, those who do cast ballots could make the difference in an inevitably close race.
But reaching them is a problem. Campaigns up and down the ballot are operating in an ever-more-fragmented media landscape where misinformation thrives — spread especially by Mr. Trump and his allies — and basic facts are often ignored, disputed or filtered through a partisan lens.
“People have really separated into their own information cul-de-sacs,” said former Representative Stephanie Murphy, a Florida Democrat. “It’s harder now to reach people than it was in previous elections because of that disaggregated or decentralized information network.”
In a presidential election in which more than 80 percent of voters, according to a Pew Research Center survey, say they wish one or both major candidates were not running, some are opting out of straight-ahead political news entirely.
When your team’s losing, you don’t read the sports page’
In a presidential election in which more than 80 percent of voters, according to a Pew Research Center survey, say they wish one or both major candidates were not running, some are opting out of straight-ahead political news entirely.
That is evident in polling about current events.
Recent New York Times/Siena College/Philadelphia Inquirer surveys found that nearly 20 percent of voters in battleground states said Mr. Biden was responsible for ending the constitutional right to abortion, even though it was Mr. Trump’s choices for the Supreme Court who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.
Almost half of the country believes the unemployment rate is at a 50-year high, a Harris poll conducted for The Guardian found, even though it is near a 50-year low.
And in a recent Politico-Morning Consult poll, voters were divided over who had done more to “promote infrastructure improvements and job creation.” Mr. Biden signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law, while Mr. Trump repeatedly failed to advance the issue.
“When your team’s losing, you don’t read the sports page after the game,” said Ken Goldstein, a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco. “You have a big swath of the country that just thinks they’re losing when it comes to politics, and so the way to deal with that is to just not pay attention.”
Low-information voters are hardly a new phenomenon: Landmark studies dating back nearly 80 years have found that the public is often uninformed on key issues.
And many Americans are indeed following this contest.
A Gallup survey released this month showed that 71 percent said they had given “quite a lot” of thought to the upcoming presidential election, in keeping with findings around this time in 2020 and 2008.
Voters who are paying less attention, pollsters say, tend to be younger or more working-class, and are more likely to engage late in the race, if they do at all.
“It’s not that politics is unimportant to them, but they have other priorities,” said Whit Ayres, a veteran Republican pollster. “Turning out the low-information voters who favor your candidate is one of the major tasks of political consultants.”
An NBC News poll conducted last month found that 15 percent of voters surveyed said they did not follow political news closely. Among those voters, Mr. Trump had an edge of 26 percentage points over Mr. Biden.
By contrast, among voters who primarily consume news through newspapers, national network and cable news — 54 percent of those surveyed — Mr. Biden was up by 11 points.
Mr. Trump’s commanding lead among the politically disengaged underscores how hard it may be for Mr. Biden to translate his record and vision into a galvanizing and attention-grabbing message for these voters, some of whom are firmly committed to Mr. Trump.
But some Democrats also see an opportunity.
“A single piece of information might have a radical impact on them, because they are by definition low-information,” former Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York said.
Pointing to subjects like Mr. Trump’s record on abortion rights or Mr. Biden’s work to lower the cost of insulin for older people, he added: “That doesn’t take a lot of explaining. It takes focusing people, it takes jolting them, but these are not complex points to get across.”
Mr. Trump also remains unpopular, and Democrats are betting that he will grow weaker as more voters see reminders of what they disliked about him.
Republicans, however, note that most Americans drew conclusions about Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden years ago — and that many voters are not following the former president’s provocations closely.
“Trump, I think he gets up there and talks a lot of stuff,” said Carla Williams, 50, of Detroit.
But Ms. Williams, who said she was often too busy with her work at an auto factory and a hotel to follow the news closely, said she was considering him anyway. She faulted Mr. Biden, whom she said she supported in 2020, for the high cost of living.
“People out here are struggling,” she said. “Everything is expensive.”
For voters who pay less attention to the news, “short-term forces” tend to play a dominant role in their thinking about politics, said Christopher H. Achen, an emeritus professor of politics at Princeton University.
“If the price of eggs goes up, they’re more likely to vote against the incumbent, even if the incumbent has nothing to do with the price of eggs,” he said.
Those are among the concerns driving Paul Ferando, 61, of Henderson, Nev., to consider voting for the first time, he said.
“You go to the grocery store, 150 bucks for one bag,” said Mr. Ferando, who works in construction and said he was too busy to closely follow the news. “It’s a joke.”
He added of Mr. Trump, “This year I might vote just to make sure he gets in.”
Many Americans now consume political news through social media, and TikTok’s emergence has greatly accelerated that trend.
By 2023, almost a third of people aged 18 to 29 were regularly getting news from TikTok, a hub for liberal causes that has also had an uptick of pro-Trump influencers since the last election.
The nature of social media — fast-moving and sometimes driven by unreliable narrators or bad actors — means that large audiences are more vulnerable to misinformation.
“I don’t really dig into it very much,” said Dean Citroni, 30, of Newnan, Ga., who works in TV and film production and said he predominantly got political news from Facebook or TikTok. Mr. Citroni, who said he would “probably” lean toward Mr. Trump over Mr. Biden but was interested in Mr. Kennedy, added, “Somebody posts a reel of it, I’m probably looking at it, going: ‘Huh! Can’t believe that!’”
And even as young voters get much of their information from individualized social media feeds, while cable news often reinforces partisan instincts, Americans have fewer cultural connections to unite them.
The era of major-network, prime-time TV hits has given way to pay-walled streaming services. Music has moved into personalized, app-driven experiences. Instagram and TikTok algorithms pelt people with unending, individualized streams of content.
And Americans’ shared vocabulary — and shared set of facts — is shrinking.
“It used to be that you could reach practically every voter through conventional electronic media, radio and television,” said Representative Dan Kildee, a Michigan Democrat. Now, he said: “You can’t really even just reach them through the more popular social media platforms. The splintering of information, the way people consume information, it’s much more difficult.”
Darrell Hammond, the comedian and former “Saturday Night Live” cast member, said those realities were even changing the nature of political comedy.
“You’d like to think that in order to laugh at a joke, the crowd has to basically understand the premise and agree with it to some extent,” he said. “But now, you have blanket generalizations only.”
Kal Penn, an actor who worked in the Obama administration, said he challenged himself to bridge the divide through humor.
“I love making something that your crazy uncle can watch with you on Thanksgiving,” he said. “And it’s like the only night where you’re not yelling at each other about the election.”
NYT link here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/us/politics/trump-biden-voters.html
submitted by NateSilverFan to fivethirtyeight [link] [comments]
But Mr. Perez — unenthusiastic about a Biden-Trump rematch, overwhelmed by the news and disillusioned by politics — is tuning out.
“If you ask me right now what’s going on with, like, the presidential race, or the situation in Gaza or Ukraine or whatever, I don’t think I can answer,” said Mr. Perez, who supported Mr. Trump in 2020 and is intrigued by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now. “I’m not trying to follow that anymore.”
Instead, said Mr. Perez, a valet who hopes to become a firefighter, “I’m just going to have to roll with the punches, because I don’t think I’m going to make a difference.”
In fact, people like him could be quite important.
Politically disengaged Americans are emerging as one of the most unpredictable, complex and potentially influential groups of voters in the 2024 race. They are fueling Mr. Trump’s current polling leads but in many cases hail from traditionally Democratic communities, giving Mr. Biden a chance to win some of them back — if he can get their attention.
No shortage of events could jolt alienated voters over the next five months, starting with a verdict in the first criminal trial of a former president in American history, which could arrive this week. Even though many of these people are historically infrequent voters, those who do cast ballots could make the difference in an inevitably close race.
But reaching them is a problem. Campaigns up and down the ballot are operating in an ever-more-fragmented media landscape where misinformation thrives — spread especially by Mr. Trump and his allies — and basic facts are often ignored, disputed or filtered through a partisan lens.
“People have really separated into their own information cul-de-sacs,” said former Representative Stephanie Murphy, a Florida Democrat. “It’s harder now to reach people than it was in previous elections because of that disaggregated or decentralized information network.”
In a presidential election in which more than 80 percent of voters, according to a Pew Research Center survey, say they wish one or both major candidates were not running, some are opting out of straight-ahead political news entirely.
When your team’s losing, you don’t read the sports page’
In a presidential election in which more than 80 percent of voters, according to a Pew Research Center survey, say they wish one or both major candidates were not running, some are opting out of straight-ahead political news entirely.
That is evident in polling about current events.
Recent New York Times/Siena College/Philadelphia Inquirer surveys found that nearly 20 percent of voters in battleground states said Mr. Biden was responsible for ending the constitutional right to abortion, even though it was Mr. Trump’s choices for the Supreme Court who helped overturn Roe v. Wade.
Almost half of the country believes the unemployment rate is at a 50-year high, a Harris poll conducted for The Guardian found, even though it is near a 50-year low.
And in a recent Politico-Morning Consult poll, voters were divided over who had done more to “promote infrastructure improvements and job creation.” Mr. Biden signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law, while Mr. Trump repeatedly failed to advance the issue.
“When your team’s losing, you don’t read the sports page after the game,” said Ken Goldstein, a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco. “You have a big swath of the country that just thinks they’re losing when it comes to politics, and so the way to deal with that is to just not pay attention.”
Low-information voters are hardly a new phenomenon: Landmark studies dating back nearly 80 years have found that the public is often uninformed on key issues.
And many Americans are indeed following this contest.
A Gallup survey released this month showed that 71 percent said they had given “quite a lot” of thought to the upcoming presidential election, in keeping with findings around this time in 2020 and 2008.
Voters who are paying less attention, pollsters say, tend to be younger or more working-class, and are more likely to engage late in the race, if they do at all.
“It’s not that politics is unimportant to them, but they have other priorities,” said Whit Ayres, a veteran Republican pollster. “Turning out the low-information voters who favor your candidate is one of the major tasks of political consultants.”
An NBC News poll conducted last month found that 15 percent of voters surveyed said they did not follow political news closely. Among those voters, Mr. Trump had an edge of 26 percentage points over Mr. Biden.
By contrast, among voters who primarily consume news through newspapers, national network and cable news — 54 percent of those surveyed — Mr. Biden was up by 11 points.
Mr. Trump’s commanding lead among the politically disengaged underscores how hard it may be for Mr. Biden to translate his record and vision into a galvanizing and attention-grabbing message for these voters, some of whom are firmly committed to Mr. Trump.
But some Democrats also see an opportunity.
“A single piece of information might have a radical impact on them, because they are by definition low-information,” former Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York said.
Pointing to subjects like Mr. Trump’s record on abortion rights or Mr. Biden’s work to lower the cost of insulin for older people, he added: “That doesn’t take a lot of explaining. It takes focusing people, it takes jolting them, but these are not complex points to get across.”
Mr. Trump also remains unpopular, and Democrats are betting that he will grow weaker as more voters see reminders of what they disliked about him.
Republicans, however, note that most Americans drew conclusions about Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden years ago — and that many voters are not following the former president’s provocations closely.
“Trump, I think he gets up there and talks a lot of stuff,” said Carla Williams, 50, of Detroit.
But Ms. Williams, who said she was often too busy with her work at an auto factory and a hotel to follow the news closely, said she was considering him anyway. She faulted Mr. Biden, whom she said she supported in 2020, for the high cost of living.
“People out here are struggling,” she said. “Everything is expensive.”
For voters who pay less attention to the news, “short-term forces” tend to play a dominant role in their thinking about politics, said Christopher H. Achen, an emeritus professor of politics at Princeton University.
“If the price of eggs goes up, they’re more likely to vote against the incumbent, even if the incumbent has nothing to do with the price of eggs,” he said.
Those are among the concerns driving Paul Ferando, 61, of Henderson, Nev., to consider voting for the first time, he said.
“You go to the grocery store, 150 bucks for one bag,” said Mr. Ferando, who works in construction and said he was too busy to closely follow the news. “It’s a joke.”
He added of Mr. Trump, “This year I might vote just to make sure he gets in.”
Many Americans now consume political news through social media, and TikTok’s emergence has greatly accelerated that trend.
By 2023, almost a third of people aged 18 to 29 were regularly getting news from TikTok, a hub for liberal causes that has also had an uptick of pro-Trump influencers since the last election.
The nature of social media — fast-moving and sometimes driven by unreliable narrators or bad actors — means that large audiences are more vulnerable to misinformation.
“I don’t really dig into it very much,” said Dean Citroni, 30, of Newnan, Ga., who works in TV and film production and said he predominantly got political news from Facebook or TikTok. Mr. Citroni, who said he would “probably” lean toward Mr. Trump over Mr. Biden but was interested in Mr. Kennedy, added, “Somebody posts a reel of it, I’m probably looking at it, going: ‘Huh! Can’t believe that!’”
And even as young voters get much of their information from individualized social media feeds, while cable news often reinforces partisan instincts, Americans have fewer cultural connections to unite them.
The era of major-network, prime-time TV hits has given way to pay-walled streaming services. Music has moved into personalized, app-driven experiences. Instagram and TikTok algorithms pelt people with unending, individualized streams of content.
And Americans’ shared vocabulary — and shared set of facts — is shrinking.
“It used to be that you could reach practically every voter through conventional electronic media, radio and television,” said Representative Dan Kildee, a Michigan Democrat. Now, he said: “You can’t really even just reach them through the more popular social media platforms. The splintering of information, the way people consume information, it’s much more difficult.”
Darrell Hammond, the comedian and former “Saturday Night Live” cast member, said those realities were even changing the nature of political comedy.
“You’d like to think that in order to laugh at a joke, the crowd has to basically understand the premise and agree with it to some extent,” he said. “But now, you have blanket generalizations only.”
Kal Penn, an actor who worked in the Obama administration, said he challenged himself to bridge the divide through humor.
“I love making something that your crazy uncle can watch with you on Thanksgiving,” he said. “And it’s like the only night where you’re not yelling at each other about the election.”
NYT link here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/us/politics/trump-biden-voters.html
2024.05.28 14:51 whythelooooooonface 33 [M4F] PA/East Coast/Anywhere - I’m tired boss.
Hello! My name is Michael and I live in South Central PA (no I’m not Amish). I am single, I have no children, I have a dog, but I have been married in the past. I blame the Navy that I was a part of for a whole 14 years.
I used to work in healthcare but am now a Starbucks store manager (free/discounted Starbucks is really nice, those jawns are expensive). I enjoy all music but EDM is my favorite. I have a few tattoos. I like being outside but I also enjoy a nice time inside. I also really enjoy volunteer firefighting. Smoking meat is also a fun time for me.
I don’t know what I’m exactly looking for on Reddit but the dating apps in my area are just not it. Down for something long term or short term. I do like to travel so if we do hit it off I’m always down for potentially meeting at some point.
https://imgur.com/a/2nMv35I
submitted by whythelooooooonface to r4r [link] [comments]
I used to work in healthcare but am now a Starbucks store manager (free/discounted Starbucks is really nice, those jawns are expensive). I enjoy all music but EDM is my favorite. I have a few tattoos. I like being outside but I also enjoy a nice time inside. I also really enjoy volunteer firefighting. Smoking meat is also a fun time for me.
I don’t know what I’m exactly looking for on Reddit but the dating apps in my area are just not it. Down for something long term or short term. I do like to travel so if we do hit it off I’m always down for potentially meeting at some point.
https://imgur.com/a/2nMv35I
2024.05.28 14:26 Horror-Disk-5603 What do you want to see in season 8?
I would like to see:
submitted by Horror-Disk-5603 to 911FOX [link] [comments]
- Ravi as a main character. It’s crazy how likeable he is for how little screen time he’s gotten.
- a new female EMT/firefighter. Besides Hen, there’s only been two female new characters on the 118 and both were character assassinated basically immediately by making them potential love interests and giving them obnoxious personalities. Would love to see a female 118 member who’s either already married outside the 118 or just has no interest in dating at work.
- Bathena get closure (and by this I don’t mean them breaking up or dying hahaha). They’ve had pretty much the same relationship issues their whole relationship and it’s never been resolved - they unveiled huge issues on the cruise and then just never talked about it since they almost died. Get them in couples counseling PLEASE.
- Eddie stays single challenge. I think if they’re playing up this “Shannon was the love of his life” thing, they really just need to keep him single. Some people don’t date after death of a partner and that’s okay.
- Josh gets a relationship challenge. If there’s one pet peeve about 911 for me, it’s that the show hates to have folks single. But I would actually love to see Josh find someone. Bro’s gone 7 seasons without a partner, his one attempt at dating was disastrous, and we know he’s interested in finding someone.
- Ortiz gets her comeuppance ofc. Someone had this idea in a comment where she gets hit by a drunk driver and the 118 is on the scene and honestly I love that idea.
- Maddie becomes a nurse again! Imo that’s still where she really wants to be secretly.
2024.05.28 14:20 whythelooooooonface 33 [M4F] PA/East Coast/Anywhere - I’m tired Boss
Hello! My name is Michael and I live in South Central PA (no I’m not Amish). I am single, I have no children, I have a dog, but I have been married in the past. I blame the Navy that I was a part of for a whole 14 years.
I used to work in healthcare but am now a Starbucks store manager (free/discounted Starbucks is really nice, those jawns are expensive). I enjoy all music but EDM is my favorite. I have a few tattoos. I like being outside but I also enjoy a nice time inside. I also really enjoy volunteer firefighting. Smoking meat is also a fun time for me.
I don’t know what I’m exactly looking for on Reddit but the dating apps in my area are just not it. Down for something long term or short term. I do like to travel so if we do hit it off I’m always down for potentially meeting at some point.
https://imgur.com/a/2nMv35I
submitted by whythelooooooonface to R4R30Plus [link] [comments]
I used to work in healthcare but am now a Starbucks store manager (free/discounted Starbucks is really nice, those jawns are expensive). I enjoy all music but EDM is my favorite. I have a few tattoos. I like being outside but I also enjoy a nice time inside. I also really enjoy volunteer firefighting. Smoking meat is also a fun time for me.
I don’t know what I’m exactly looking for on Reddit but the dating apps in my area are just not it. Down for something long term or short term. I do like to travel so if we do hit it off I’m always down for potentially meeting at some point.
https://imgur.com/a/2nMv35I
2024.05.28 00:31 HaninMias 450 Hour Update: The Long March
This is my first update. Bear with me here. I wanted to write this at 300, but now I'm at 450 somehow.
Intro - Why CI Works and Feels Good
On the drive back from a beautiful botanical garden in Mexico, I was the only person able to speak Spanish amongst my white family, and our driver was a very talkative fellow who knew basically zero English. There was no internet out there, so no google translate. I had learned Spanish only from high school classes, and it was a disaster. I think I said "tenga miedo?" at one point. At the end of the drive I apologized for my bad Spanish, but he encouraged me to keep learning since he would try to do the same with English. We bonded through our terrible levels of each other's languages, and I honestly think that conversation motivated to learn Spanish more than anything.
The methods I tried in my journey prior to CI did not work. Do I really need to go into detail? Language transfer? Nope. Flashcards? Nope. Talking to the taqueria cashier in Spanish? Hell no. Watching casa de los flores with Spanish subtitles? Nope. Nothing felt like it was really working.
In hindsight, the dreaming spanish/comprehensible input method makes so much sense you can't believe you ever felt differently. We learn through actively acquiring and being immersed in our native languages. In a class for my education minor, we learned about how exploring a topic on your own is a great way to actually remember what you're learning. The CI method is exactly that: exploring. Like our prepubescent selves, we are actively filing out our mental maps of the language. Each new word, phrase, and structure, adds to this map, clearing the gray areas from our heads.
Part of the effectiveness of the exploration process are the "A-ha" moments that feel so rewarding. I remember listening to Learn Spanish and Go while waiting for the bus and they used the word "sobresalir" and its meaning just clicked perfectly into place. It was a very gratifying moment, and I've remembered the word ever since. Brute forcing a word through looking it up can potentially work, but internalizing it through multiple contexts of immersion cements it better than anything.
It seems like language learning is figuring out which way to make as much vocabulary stick in your head as possible, and CI does that the best for me. Traditional grammar studying and looking up/translating words weren't really working for me. I would just forget everything constantly. And most importantly, that method was BORING. Without some excitement and tangible progress, what's the point?
What works best for me is a mix of very understandable and just barely understandable content. Both help me learn and remember in different ways. Knowing almost every word singles out those words I don't know and helps me get closer to getting them through context. Harder content challenges me, has usually been much more interesting than other stuff along the journey, and acclimates me to the sound of faster Spanish. This is what I do personally, and it might not be the most efficient way, but it keeps me motivated. The content I used along the way follows.
The Content
Dreaming Spanish - Usage
I found the first 50-150 hours of the journey to be quite difficult. You have to make listening a habit, power through some sort of boring content, and generally feel a bit confused a lot. I watched a lot of DS and a tiny bit of cuentame.
I watch DS more now than ever honestly. I really enjoy videos like Pablo's personal stories in that idyllic little park in Thailand. Conversational content is overall still my favorite though. I just feel like listening to a convo is much easier to pay attention to and not space out than solo stuff.
DS - The Guides
Pablo: Not much to say about the goat. Would love to see him play other games (especially dark souls but more on this later).
Andres: He's just hilarious all around. I love how bad he is at spyfall and other games. He also apparently has an insane life. Was a military firefighter who once dated two gals at once (if he wasn't joking about that). His content is super accessible, and I recommend his advanced series on his military experience to everyone level 4 on beyond, since it's actually pretty easy to understand, and it's super interesting. His videos are always a must watch for me.
Shelcin: Everyone needs to be nicer to Shelcin because she's never done anything wrong ever and when they make fun of her my heart turns a little more blackened
Natalia: She rocks so much. I really hope she continues to do videos with the other teachers since she has fantastic vibes and speaks so very clearly.
Sandra: At first I wasn't a fan of solo talking to camera videos, but as I got more input, her videos really started to click. She's a genuine person, probably would be a cool friend. It's a shame she doesn't interact with other guides, but I assume she's off doing other stuff now and we're just watching backlog stuff.
The Rest: Everyone else is great, but I just don't have much to add about them.
Podcasts:
Spanish for False Beginners: This is premium intermediate CI. It's conversational, at a pretty solid but not too fast pace, the topics are interesting, and there are NO ADS. I really really hate when podcasts have like 2 minutes of ads at the start and end like No Hay Tos since I listen to podcasts at work sometimes where I can't easily skip forward. The podcasts is Oscar from Intermediate Spanish Podcast and his boyfriend (not native speaker fyi) riffing on various topics. They're super cute. Big recommend for this level.
Español Con Juan: I started this podcast at around 200 hours. It was very challenging. It's easier to space out when you find content a little too hard, so I definitely missed some of the middle episodes where he talked about kings and stuff. But when I go back to listen to new episodes it's just insane how clear he is for me now. I can understand basically everything he says at 450 hours. So give him a chance. You really just gotta get used to his speaking style, and then it's not as hard as it seems. And of course, the content itself is amazing, but you all already know that. I hope to live to see the day he tells the story about the dog.
Intermediate Spanish Podcast with Oscar: Starts out kind of slow, and is a little harder than ECJ, but it's just such good input. He gets into some great, even very personal topics later on and speaks very clearly. I've grown to really enjoy this one, even though it's a bit dryer than ECJ.
No Hay Tos: Too hard! And I will never pay for Rosetta stone. I'll give them a chance again soon though. I like the conversational style a lot and they seem funny.
LenguaTalk: Pretty short but great lower Intermediate conversational Spanish between a married couple from Spain. Very cute!
Other Content:
Hajime No Ippo The Spanish dub for this incredible anime is on YouTube for free. I've seen this before, so while it was incredibly difficult to watch at around 300 hours, I did get used to the pace and understood the vast majority of episodes by the end. You'll learn a lot of boxing terms if you're ever wondering how to say HE FELL TO THE CANVAS!!! A DEVASTATING RIGHT HOOK!! In Spanish. But really, this show is so good. The characters are excellent and the boxing is just so fun and tense. Big recommend.
Songs: This is a fairly controversial topic on this sub it seems. I've listened to a ton of songs in Spanish. I don't count this as input, but I genuinely think it can be helpful sometimes to remember vocabulary, especially if you find the song good and catchy. Some genres, like hip hop and reggaeton, are much harder to understand on average than others. I recommend folk and rock to start.
Here's a playlist I made of songs that are somewhat comprehensible at my level: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4fKeoBQI76Dc1vt6VhuDgY?si=edh6uxdXS-S3T0k50KRDkQ&pi=bUJOeicMRk64-
How to Survive the Long March - Things I've Learned Along the Way
Pablo. PLEASE. please stream elden ring. i need someone to play the souls games with intermediate/advanced CI commentary. this is all i want in life. I will give you 20 dollars personally if this happens. I will venmo you. imagine the DS team playing mario kart or mario party together. 8 player smash bros with every guide. ok that's too far. but gaming content could be really good. how often do we get CI of Spanish speakers getting mad as hell at a game?
This method is going to absolutely blow up one day. People are going to be min maxing the best ways to get input in. They'll be watching 54 level difficulty videos at 1.17 times speed for maximum input. There will be official CI speedruns. This method is so ingenious I kind of can't believe a big corporation hasn't made it as soulless and profitable as possible yet. Get in on the CI train while it's still cool!!
DS has made me think a lot about how little content guys watch that is made from women in general. I didn't watch very many female Youtubers at all when I was in high school, and I think this was true of many friends of mine. I never would have watched something like Michelle's skincare or astrology series in English, so I really appreciate the wide variety of content and diversity one gets exposes to while going through this process.
Future
I'm going to start reading soon, but to avoid the pronunciation thing I'm going to listen to an audiobook as I read along. I have no idea if this will work. That's fine. I'm not a scientist I'm just a guy. I'm doing my best.
No speaking for a while too. I've spoken a little bit, and yeah, it's bad. I don't wanna sound like the Españolistas guy. So I'm waiting like a good boy 😃
Goal is 600 hours by August, when I start student teaching in a Teacher's Credential program. Whether I'll have any time for Spanish at that point, I really don't know.
Conclusion
Comprehensible input is very rewarding and motivating. It's the method that has worked best for me. I can genuinely say I've improved a ton at listening already. Progress is slow, but man it's so worth it. Learning Spanish gives you the ability to talk to so many more people, and that's a beautiful thing.
Good luck on the long march. It's nice to have a very friendly community to struggle alongside. So, thank you all and see you around.
cuídate
submitted by HaninMias to dreamingspanish [link] [comments]
Intro - Why CI Works and Feels Good
On the drive back from a beautiful botanical garden in Mexico, I was the only person able to speak Spanish amongst my white family, and our driver was a very talkative fellow who knew basically zero English. There was no internet out there, so no google translate. I had learned Spanish only from high school classes, and it was a disaster. I think I said "tenga miedo?" at one point. At the end of the drive I apologized for my bad Spanish, but he encouraged me to keep learning since he would try to do the same with English. We bonded through our terrible levels of each other's languages, and I honestly think that conversation motivated to learn Spanish more than anything.
The methods I tried in my journey prior to CI did not work. Do I really need to go into detail? Language transfer? Nope. Flashcards? Nope. Talking to the taqueria cashier in Spanish? Hell no. Watching casa de los flores with Spanish subtitles? Nope. Nothing felt like it was really working.
In hindsight, the dreaming spanish/comprehensible input method makes so much sense you can't believe you ever felt differently. We learn through actively acquiring and being immersed in our native languages. In a class for my education minor, we learned about how exploring a topic on your own is a great way to actually remember what you're learning. The CI method is exactly that: exploring. Like our prepubescent selves, we are actively filing out our mental maps of the language. Each new word, phrase, and structure, adds to this map, clearing the gray areas from our heads.
Part of the effectiveness of the exploration process are the "A-ha" moments that feel so rewarding. I remember listening to Learn Spanish and Go while waiting for the bus and they used the word "sobresalir" and its meaning just clicked perfectly into place. It was a very gratifying moment, and I've remembered the word ever since. Brute forcing a word through looking it up can potentially work, but internalizing it through multiple contexts of immersion cements it better than anything.
It seems like language learning is figuring out which way to make as much vocabulary stick in your head as possible, and CI does that the best for me. Traditional grammar studying and looking up/translating words weren't really working for me. I would just forget everything constantly. And most importantly, that method was BORING. Without some excitement and tangible progress, what's the point?
What works best for me is a mix of very understandable and just barely understandable content. Both help me learn and remember in different ways. Knowing almost every word singles out those words I don't know and helps me get closer to getting them through context. Harder content challenges me, has usually been much more interesting than other stuff along the journey, and acclimates me to the sound of faster Spanish. This is what I do personally, and it might not be the most efficient way, but it keeps me motivated. The content I used along the way follows.
The Content
Dreaming Spanish - Usage
I found the first 50-150 hours of the journey to be quite difficult. You have to make listening a habit, power through some sort of boring content, and generally feel a bit confused a lot. I watched a lot of DS and a tiny bit of cuentame.
I watch DS more now than ever honestly. I really enjoy videos like Pablo's personal stories in that idyllic little park in Thailand. Conversational content is overall still my favorite though. I just feel like listening to a convo is much easier to pay attention to and not space out than solo stuff.
DS - The Guides
Pablo: Not much to say about the goat. Would love to see him play other games (especially dark souls but more on this later).
Andres: He's just hilarious all around. I love how bad he is at spyfall and other games. He also apparently has an insane life. Was a military firefighter who once dated two gals at once (if he wasn't joking about that). His content is super accessible, and I recommend his advanced series on his military experience to everyone level 4 on beyond, since it's actually pretty easy to understand, and it's super interesting. His videos are always a must watch for me.
Shelcin: Everyone needs to be nicer to Shelcin because she's never done anything wrong ever and when they make fun of her my heart turns a little more blackened
Natalia: She rocks so much. I really hope she continues to do videos with the other teachers since she has fantastic vibes and speaks so very clearly.
Sandra: At first I wasn't a fan of solo talking to camera videos, but as I got more input, her videos really started to click. She's a genuine person, probably would be a cool friend. It's a shame she doesn't interact with other guides, but I assume she's off doing other stuff now and we're just watching backlog stuff.
The Rest: Everyone else is great, but I just don't have much to add about them.
Podcasts:
Spanish for False Beginners: This is premium intermediate CI. It's conversational, at a pretty solid but not too fast pace, the topics are interesting, and there are NO ADS. I really really hate when podcasts have like 2 minutes of ads at the start and end like No Hay Tos since I listen to podcasts at work sometimes where I can't easily skip forward. The podcasts is Oscar from Intermediate Spanish Podcast and his boyfriend (not native speaker fyi) riffing on various topics. They're super cute. Big recommend for this level.
Español Con Juan: I started this podcast at around 200 hours. It was very challenging. It's easier to space out when you find content a little too hard, so I definitely missed some of the middle episodes where he talked about kings and stuff. But when I go back to listen to new episodes it's just insane how clear he is for me now. I can understand basically everything he says at 450 hours. So give him a chance. You really just gotta get used to his speaking style, and then it's not as hard as it seems. And of course, the content itself is amazing, but you all already know that. I hope to live to see the day he tells the story about the dog.
Intermediate Spanish Podcast with Oscar: Starts out kind of slow, and is a little harder than ECJ, but it's just such good input. He gets into some great, even very personal topics later on and speaks very clearly. I've grown to really enjoy this one, even though it's a bit dryer than ECJ.
No Hay Tos: Too hard! And I will never pay for Rosetta stone. I'll give them a chance again soon though. I like the conversational style a lot and they seem funny.
LenguaTalk: Pretty short but great lower Intermediate conversational Spanish between a married couple from Spain. Very cute!
Other Content:
Hajime No Ippo The Spanish dub for this incredible anime is on YouTube for free. I've seen this before, so while it was incredibly difficult to watch at around 300 hours, I did get used to the pace and understood the vast majority of episodes by the end. You'll learn a lot of boxing terms if you're ever wondering how to say HE FELL TO THE CANVAS!!! A DEVASTATING RIGHT HOOK!! In Spanish. But really, this show is so good. The characters are excellent and the boxing is just so fun and tense. Big recommend.
Songs: This is a fairly controversial topic on this sub it seems. I've listened to a ton of songs in Spanish. I don't count this as input, but I genuinely think it can be helpful sometimes to remember vocabulary, especially if you find the song good and catchy. Some genres, like hip hop and reggaeton, are much harder to understand on average than others. I recommend folk and rock to start.
Here's a playlist I made of songs that are somewhat comprehensible at my level: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4fKeoBQI76Dc1vt6VhuDgY?si=edh6uxdXS-S3T0k50KRDkQ&pi=bUJOeicMRk64-
How to Survive the Long March - Things I've Learned Along the Way
- Watch content you enjoy. If you can't find that at your level, which I definitely experienced at the beginner stage, watch content solely for the purpose of finding new vocab. It's not ideal, but coming at it from an "exploration" mindset can make mundane content much more tolerable.
- Be realistic about your capabilities. I was shooting for 2 hours a day months ago. I barely hit that goal. Lowering it to 90 minutes helped a ton. Now I'm at 100, and pretty consistent about it too.
- Find out what helps you keep going. What content works for you? How do you stay motivated? I personally listen to a ton of Spanish at the gym. Even though it's sometimes distracting, making learning Spanish synonymous with improving myself physically has been incredibly motivating. What's your goal for learning Spanish? I want to be able to communicate better with my Spanish speaking students when I'm a teacher. Being able to actually talk in Spanish would be incredibly helpful for me, so I kind of keep that fire under my feet to keep me motivated and consistent.
Pablo. PLEASE. please stream elden ring. i need someone to play the souls games with intermediate/advanced CI commentary. this is all i want in life. I will give you 20 dollars personally if this happens. I will venmo you. imagine the DS team playing mario kart or mario party together. 8 player smash bros with every guide. ok that's too far. but gaming content could be really good. how often do we get CI of Spanish speakers getting mad as hell at a game?
This method is going to absolutely blow up one day. People are going to be min maxing the best ways to get input in. They'll be watching 54 level difficulty videos at 1.17 times speed for maximum input. There will be official CI speedruns. This method is so ingenious I kind of can't believe a big corporation hasn't made it as soulless and profitable as possible yet. Get in on the CI train while it's still cool!!
DS has made me think a lot about how little content guys watch that is made from women in general. I didn't watch very many female Youtubers at all when I was in high school, and I think this was true of many friends of mine. I never would have watched something like Michelle's skincare or astrology series in English, so I really appreciate the wide variety of content and diversity one gets exposes to while going through this process.
Future
I'm going to start reading soon, but to avoid the pronunciation thing I'm going to listen to an audiobook as I read along. I have no idea if this will work. That's fine. I'm not a scientist I'm just a guy. I'm doing my best.
No speaking for a while too. I've spoken a little bit, and yeah, it's bad. I don't wanna sound like the Españolistas guy. So I'm waiting like a good boy 😃
Goal is 600 hours by August, when I start student teaching in a Teacher's Credential program. Whether I'll have any time for Spanish at that point, I really don't know.
Conclusion
Comprehensible input is very rewarding and motivating. It's the method that has worked best for me. I can genuinely say I've improved a ton at listening already. Progress is slow, but man it's so worth it. Learning Spanish gives you the ability to talk to so many more people, and that's a beautiful thing.
Good luck on the long march. It's nice to have a very friendly community to struggle alongside. So, thank you all and see you around.
cuídate
2024.05.27 23:31 Adventurous-Face6499 [REQUEST] [STEAM] Ready Or Not 26.99 on sale.
Introduction.
I am still not giving up. After so many months of unsuccessful tries, I just can't give up on a game that I am so eager and passionate to play. I have listed all the reasons why I want to play this game down below and what makes this game so amazing. I have another reason that gives me extra incentive to play. I started a YouTube channel, trying to get the hardest achievements in games. I heard there's a few hard achievements to obtain in Ready or Not and I am always up for a challenge. Anyways enjoy reading the rest down below.
So first thing I should probably talk about is why I deserve to be on the SWAT team. Lets start off with safety. I will always let my fellow armed forces go into enemy territory before me to ensure the safety of myself. I see it more as a polite gesture, like letting the lady walk through the door before you. Makes sense right?.. right?! Firearms training? Pffft.. Ranging back from when I was 4 years old, I was granted permission to use a water pistol for the first time. 9 years old I built my very first pistol (made of legos) 15 years old, I gunned down a raging terrorist for the first time… on CSGO of course! I'm practically a pro at this point! I have plenty of experience on the field. I've successfully rescued over 5000 hostages in my lifetime. Every week I’d find myself in the same office building rescuing the same god damn people. Seems like they couldn’t stay out of trouble.. I was thinking about taking my old, wrinkled up camping bed there as I seem to be there more than anywhere else. I've defused and planted.. ahem I mean no! Not planted! Just defused many bombs throughout my life. I have been deployed in many locations of the world! Some places were covered in dust. Other areas gave me a sense of vertigo. I thought I went to another desert-like area once but turned out it was only a mirage. I’m not crazy I swear! Hey, I've even been lucky enough to explore the Aztecs! The locals seemed friendly. That was until they got a bit 'touchy'. They started chanting fresh meat in sync as they slowly marched around me. I don't know why, because I wasn't carrying any fresh meat on me? I got scared though and managed to escape on a hand-crafted boat made out of old wooden pallets. What an eventful day that was! No harm was caused, except for a couple of splinters in my bottom. I always carry the right equipment with me at all times, including these red and blue flashy lights I got from the Facebook marketplace. They were cheap as chips and an offer I just could not refuse! Seriously, every time I drive around with these lights on, people seem to move out of my way? It's like I have magical powers or something. If you guys ever get the opportunity, you have to cop some. (see what I did there..) And no that's not the only thing I carry with me. I also carry the freshest, tastiest, shiniest pink sprinkled donuts that every cop dreams about. I think the donuts alone already qualifies me as a cop. I went to this Halloween party once, I galloped my way to the costume shop in excitement as it was the first party I was ever invited too! I purchased a cop uniform and my gosh was it believable. I had people thinking I was a real cop and everything. Putting people in cuffs, getting people to hold their hands up in fear! It was brilliant! And then these 2 guys pulled up outside. They were also dressed up as police officers. They even pulled up in a police cruiser. Now that was commitment. They were a bit rough though, dragging me in the back of the car and even locking me up behind bars for the night. Someone took Halloween a bit serious that year.. Come to think of it, I think they were real police officers? But at least I know how to handcuff people! If you're not totally convinced yet as to why I would like to be apart of the armed forces, whatever reason that may be?!! allow me to present to you my actual, sincere request for this game ;).
So what is Ready or Not? - And why I would like it.
Quick disclaimer, if you don't fancy reading through everything (which is understandable) then scroll a bit further down to the 'A quick summary' section, as I have listed a few bullet points basically summarizing everything about this game that I really like and why it takes my interest, but otherwise feel free to give it a read :).
So Ready or Not is a tactical SWAT game where your main focus is to raid buildings and rescue hostages. Along the way you will encounter criminals, but this isn't just a typical case of running in and shooting like an headless chicken. This is a game that's all about teamwork and communication. Every raid needs to be planned and executed properly as your actions can lead to consequences. It's supposed to give you that immersive and realistic feel so put yourself in the shoes of a tactical SWAT officer and then you DECIDE how to approach all these kinds of situations. Of course, you play how you like. Go in stealth mode and apprehend every situation with caution or kick the door down and kill on sight, but ultimately the best way to play is how a real SWAT team would deal with these scenarios. It's what makes this game 1000x more fun. It's so realistic to the point of not just the gameplay or the mechanics, but also the little things like apparently how the A.I works. It's like playing against actual people so this is something I'm really excited to experience myself and makes me want to play this game even more. The enemies/ criminals hide in closets, they fake surrender, they can also throw away their guns and then they will take it again when you're not paying attention. Even your teammates, lets say you're playing single player. A.I SWAT officers that join you on your missions when playing act like they’re, well, highly trained police officers who have years of experience going on dangerous raids. They don’t get in your way, they listen to the many commands you can give them with a press of a button, secure evidence and incapacitate enemies without being specifically instructed to, and hold their own in firefights. Those firefights are often against enemies.
You've got all your proper SWAT gear, weapons and other tactical equipment that would be necessary for these jobs. This game features 4 weapon categories. Assault rifles, shotguns, SMGs, and pistols. You're also equipped with pepper spray, a taser, SWAT shield, lock picker, wire cutters and more. Basically all the tools you would need to help assist with the job! Every SWAT team member is also strapped with a body cam, and you are able to select through any players body cam whenever you think it's necessary. It's a good way to give other teammates a better idea of someones whereabouts or what sort of situation they're currently in. It can be useful in a lot of ways. Players must choose their loadouts carefully to help survive these tense missions which is what I like because it means planning out the jobs and being fully prepared. To me, it seems like the development team put a lot of thought and effort into this game and the community feedback really shows it.
Also the environment and the setting of the game, it really makes you feel like you're actually there. It's raw, real-like and gritty and each map looks distinctive which really sets the tone of the game. Each house or building you advance towards, has this dark and devastating feel to it, like you can almost tell immediately that something grim is going on behind those doors. And speaking of maps, this game is fully mod supported. Custom maps, weapons including guns and attachments, gear and other 'quality of life' mods that will help enhance your gameplay experience. There's so many mods that have been created for this game that it will be hard to get bored of and I would definitely love to experiment with some of these mods eventually. Playing the game purely vanilla and getting the hang of it all first is of greater importance but the fact it is mod supported just gives you endless possibilities of pure enjoyment.
Now on to an older game really quickly. So if you guys have ever played SWAT 4 or at least heard of it, then Ready or Not will sound very familiar to you. Like Ready or Not, SWAT 4 is also a tactical SWAT game, where raiding buildings, rescuing hostages and arresting criminals are your main priorities. Ready or Not is very much inspired by this older game that came out around 2005 on PC. Of course, Ready or Not is more current (13th December 2023) and up to date with better gameplay mechanics etc. For example, some doors are wired up with tripwire. Instead of barging through every door like a maniac, you must take in to consideration that some doors can be rigged to blow. This can be tackled though by first peeking through the doors, and then snipping the wire with your trusty wire cutters. Some doors may be locked though so what do you do? Don't worry, you can also carry a lock picker with you, but if you don't have one, maybe someone else in the team is carrying one. If you're a bit hesitant on opening doors because of that stressful feeling rushing through your body, then there's another way. Players have the option of carrying a mirror with them. You can use this to your advantage as you can slide these mirrors under the door gap. This gives you the upper hand as you have the opportunity to spot enemies before they spot you. You can then inform your teammates of the enemies locations, giving your teammates a little bit more time to get their selves prepared. You can also slide them under doors to find out whether or not a door has been wired up. The mirror - such a simple item, but can be a lifesaver! Some other realistic mechanics featured in this game are not being able to sprint. I like this because it give you the ability to clear rooms effectively like how it's supposed to be done. Like how it is done. Sprinting through hallways like some cracked Call Of Duty player takes away that realism. This also means that catching up to suspects who are trying to flee the scene make it more challenging. So perhaps working with your team to form some sort of formation or maybe getting someone to hold doorways would be a great way to tackle these situations. Something else I found out that makes the game a bit more challenging is sustaining injuries. Lets say for instance you get shot in the arm. You will find it a bit tougher to be able to fire your weapon like controlling the recoil etc. And sustaining an injury to the leg will prevent you from kicking down doors, limiting your options before breaching rooms. This really puts you into perspective of what being in the force is sort of like. Obviously this is just a game, but most games make it look much more simpler that what they are supposed to portray whereas Ready Or Not takes it up a level in my opinion.
Another small detail that I like is being able to collect evidence during raids for example, when a criminal drops his weapon, you can then bag it up and collect it as evidence which will then determine your rank at the end of each mission. See in my opinion, having a rank assigned at the end of mission completion gives you that little extra bit of motive to play the game properly which is what I fully intend to do. The rank you get is based off of how much you achieve during your missions and how many objectives you complete. Ready or Not is very slow-paced and deliberate compared to other shooters. It requires a lot of time and patience so rushing through the missions is very likely to backfire. Every so often, you may be under intense pressure, and you may not have time to think about your next move. You may accidentally shoot a civilian which will obviously penalize you and that plays a big role on the outcome of your player rank. There's numerous types of evidence to collect. Weapons, documents, drugs and a lot more which I think is a nice realistic element to add in a game like this.
I also know there's lots of different kinds of game modes and missions that have different points of interests and scenarios to immerse yourself into. Some missions being more complex than others which I like the sound of because too many of the same thing can feel a bit repetitive, so I like how each mode gives you a different experience altogether. The modes included in this game so far are Hostage Rescue, Active Shooter, Raid, Bomb Threat and Barricaded Suspects. I know the titles of these modes give you a clear understanding of what they involve but I don't know how these game modes will play out and what to fully expect. How they work, how challenging they are etc. I have tried not to look yet as I simply don't want to spoil it for myself. I wan't to go in the game completely fresh and take it all in step by step. This game is like a breath of fresh air and with everything I've read up on and seen so far, it just sounds astonishing.
As I mentioned a little bit in my introduction, I am very familiar with FPS games. I've played other FPS games that require the same sort of skills required for Ready or Not. For example, communication skills. I would consider myself a team player. I am very vocal and always give out important call outs and info, especially in vital moments. I can implement all the stuff that I have learnt from previous games and use that to my advantage. And as the A.I are pretty smart, I can also put my gun play skills to the test. Holding angles, peeking around corners slow and steadily, handling the weapon itself by controlling the recoil, tossing a flashbang through doors and rush B! Okay that might of been a CS reference.. But yeah hopefully you guys get my point. Overtime, I've been able to get better and better at previous FPS games as I've always grinded to improve myself and I plan to devote many hours of my life into this game to do the exact same thing. I'm fully invested in this game and I haven't even played it yet lmao.
I heard the community is friendly and welcoming for the most part. Of course there's going to be a few negatives just like every community that exists but that is to be expected. According to some of the comments in this Reddit post most people haven't experienced much toxicity so this is quite reassuring, especially to new players who are trying to get to grips with the game. And even some steam reviews people have claimed that they haven't experienced much toxicity. The community is filled with a mixture of players. Some play it on a more serious level whereas some are more casual players who are playing just for fun. There's a wide range of discord servers out there to play with other people and I would hopefully like to be apart of some of them, especially if my friends aren't playing. I'd like to imagine where I could possibly pick up new things from these players. I usually pick up on things pretty quick so it shouldn't be much of a problem getting up to speed with everyone else. I am a gamer after all :). Although what I can say is, I've already learnt quite a bit already by just doing some research on the game.
Now I know this next point may sound a bit silly and doesn't add or change anything about the game, but I wanted to talk about this as I thought it was really commendable. Of course being a tactical SWAT officer, is a very high-risk high reward kind of job. Every job taken place is unpredictable and you don't know what to expect. In some cases, not all jobs involve gunning down hostile enemies. As we know, there's a pretty common term out there known as 'Swatting'. Swatting is basically alerting the police of a very threatening occurrence happening at someone's address when in fact this is nothing more than complete lies. This happens pretty commonly to live streamers as they are an easy target I guess, or the fact that you get to see everything unfold live. Well I wanted to point this out because in one of the trailers for Ready or Not, this exact situation happens. There is no dialogue, just sort of a retro upbeat tune playing in the background which contrasts to the events actually happening. The first scene displayed are 4 SWAT forces making entry into an ordinary looking property. My first reaction to this is they are about to enter into a very critical situation, maybe a hostage situation? or maybe a highly dangerous, wanted man? Well the next scene, introduces us to what appears to be a normal looking guy, with bright blue hair and your typical e-girl cat eared headphones sitting at a nice and rich looking gaming setup. On one of the monitors, you can clearly see a live chat feed, clearly implying that this guy is a live streamer and reality hits you that this guy is about to get swatted. Now I don't see this being part of the actual gameplay as it would probably be too short and not a lot of gameplay elements would be added. I could be wrong though and there might be more involved, but the attention to detail in this trailer is superb! Being apart of the armed forces isn't always about stepping in dangerous environments, it's also about answering silly prank calls whilst being totally unaware. I have to put my hat off to whoever created this trailer for making this game even more real to today's society. It just caught my attention and that's something I just wanted to kind of write about.
The game is still fairly new. It was released on Steam 17th of December, 2021 in early access and was fully released just before last Christmas. But the developers are actively working on the game, bringing out new content and updates regularly. They also love to listen to the community feedback a lot, so most updates they bring out are input given from their dedicated fan-base. They also have a YouTube channel called 'VOID Interactive', where they give out very informative descriptions of the game that can be very accommodating to new players. Check out their latest video 'Ready or Not - SWAT AI vLog' which is a good example of how informative they are. You can also see how much progress they've made since the project first started, starting from 6 years ago all the way up until now which shows their level of dedication and commitment to this game.
If someone does happen to gift me this game, I will be able to experience it for myself and will probably have a lot more to say about the game. Based off of all the reviews I've read and all the clips I've watched, the game looks really promising! and speaking of 'promising', I promise to whoever gifts me this game, your money will NOT be wasted and I will be EXTREMELY grateful. So yeah, I would really love to delve deep into this game with my buddies. We have always talked about getting the game at some point. We play a lot of games together but this will be something completely unique and fresh to play. But I've been anxious to play this game for so long, regardless if my buddies get the game or not, I can be a lone wolf, directing my little A.I friends every step of the way to success and taking out all these filthy crooks and criminals one by one! So thanks to those who take the time to read my request.
A quick summary.
I know this is a long and probably boring post so I will just summarize some points why this game is fantastic and why I really want to dive into it.
● Realistic/ immersive feel.
● Clever A.I (Teammates and Enemies).
● Proper tactical weapons/ equipment.
● Wide-range of missions and scenarios.
● Several game mode types to spice up the gameplay
● Variety of maps (Some more complex than others).
● Top-notch game mechanics.
● Heavily relies on teamwork and communication.
● Great with friends or as a solo player.
● Each approach is handled differently.
● Actions can lead to consequences.
● Environment is very gritty and atmospheric.
● A lot of small details that brings this game to life.
● A mixture of emotions this game puts you through.
● Player ranks.
● Fully mod supported.
● Great community.
● Active development team bringing updates on the regular.
Conclusion.
Once I finish my last year of sixth form, I would like to start earning money for myself. With this money I would like to give back to this amazing community and be able to spread kindness and joy to others. Yes, I want to be in the position of being able to gift games too! Right now I'm unfortunately not able to do that. Money is an issue for me and that's why I'm requesting this game. So fingers crossed, someone out there can make me a happy guy and let me play this gem of a game. I've done my research the past few months and I can say with hand on heart, that this game is something I fell in love with the minute I found out about it. Thank you for reading my request. Take care guys and gals and good luck to everyone else out there who are also requesting games!
So.. Ready or Not? I most certainly am Sorry about that one xD
My Steam profile: https://steamcommunity.com/id/dafydd2k/
Ready or Not: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1144200/Ready_or_Not/
submitted by Adventurous-Face6499 to GiftofGames [link] [comments]
I am still not giving up. After so many months of unsuccessful tries, I just can't give up on a game that I am so eager and passionate to play. I have listed all the reasons why I want to play this game down below and what makes this game so amazing. I have another reason that gives me extra incentive to play. I started a YouTube channel, trying to get the hardest achievements in games. I heard there's a few hard achievements to obtain in Ready or Not and I am always up for a challenge. Anyways enjoy reading the rest down below.
So first thing I should probably talk about is why I deserve to be on the SWAT team. Lets start off with safety. I will always let my fellow armed forces go into enemy territory before me to ensure the safety of myself. I see it more as a polite gesture, like letting the lady walk through the door before you. Makes sense right?.. right?! Firearms training? Pffft.. Ranging back from when I was 4 years old, I was granted permission to use a water pistol for the first time. 9 years old I built my very first pistol (made of legos) 15 years old, I gunned down a raging terrorist for the first time… on CSGO of course! I'm practically a pro at this point! I have plenty of experience on the field. I've successfully rescued over 5000 hostages in my lifetime. Every week I’d find myself in the same office building rescuing the same god damn people. Seems like they couldn’t stay out of trouble.. I was thinking about taking my old, wrinkled up camping bed there as I seem to be there more than anywhere else. I've defused and planted.. ahem I mean no! Not planted! Just defused many bombs throughout my life. I have been deployed in many locations of the world! Some places were covered in dust. Other areas gave me a sense of vertigo. I thought I went to another desert-like area once but turned out it was only a mirage. I’m not crazy I swear! Hey, I've even been lucky enough to explore the Aztecs! The locals seemed friendly. That was until they got a bit 'touchy'. They started chanting fresh meat in sync as they slowly marched around me. I don't know why, because I wasn't carrying any fresh meat on me? I got scared though and managed to escape on a hand-crafted boat made out of old wooden pallets. What an eventful day that was! No harm was caused, except for a couple of splinters in my bottom. I always carry the right equipment with me at all times, including these red and blue flashy lights I got from the Facebook marketplace. They were cheap as chips and an offer I just could not refuse! Seriously, every time I drive around with these lights on, people seem to move out of my way? It's like I have magical powers or something. If you guys ever get the opportunity, you have to cop some. (see what I did there..) And no that's not the only thing I carry with me. I also carry the freshest, tastiest, shiniest pink sprinkled donuts that every cop dreams about. I think the donuts alone already qualifies me as a cop. I went to this Halloween party once, I galloped my way to the costume shop in excitement as it was the first party I was ever invited too! I purchased a cop uniform and my gosh was it believable. I had people thinking I was a real cop and everything. Putting people in cuffs, getting people to hold their hands up in fear! It was brilliant! And then these 2 guys pulled up outside. They were also dressed up as police officers. They even pulled up in a police cruiser. Now that was commitment. They were a bit rough though, dragging me in the back of the car and even locking me up behind bars for the night. Someone took Halloween a bit serious that year.. Come to think of it, I think they were real police officers? But at least I know how to handcuff people! If you're not totally convinced yet as to why I would like to be apart of the armed forces, whatever reason that may be?!! allow me to present to you my actual, sincere request for this game ;).
So what is Ready or Not? - And why I would like it.
Quick disclaimer, if you don't fancy reading through everything (which is understandable) then scroll a bit further down to the 'A quick summary' section, as I have listed a few bullet points basically summarizing everything about this game that I really like and why it takes my interest, but otherwise feel free to give it a read :).
So Ready or Not is a tactical SWAT game where your main focus is to raid buildings and rescue hostages. Along the way you will encounter criminals, but this isn't just a typical case of running in and shooting like an headless chicken. This is a game that's all about teamwork and communication. Every raid needs to be planned and executed properly as your actions can lead to consequences. It's supposed to give you that immersive and realistic feel so put yourself in the shoes of a tactical SWAT officer and then you DECIDE how to approach all these kinds of situations. Of course, you play how you like. Go in stealth mode and apprehend every situation with caution or kick the door down and kill on sight, but ultimately the best way to play is how a real SWAT team would deal with these scenarios. It's what makes this game 1000x more fun. It's so realistic to the point of not just the gameplay or the mechanics, but also the little things like apparently how the A.I works. It's like playing against actual people so this is something I'm really excited to experience myself and makes me want to play this game even more. The enemies/ criminals hide in closets, they fake surrender, they can also throw away their guns and then they will take it again when you're not paying attention. Even your teammates, lets say you're playing single player. A.I SWAT officers that join you on your missions when playing act like they’re, well, highly trained police officers who have years of experience going on dangerous raids. They don’t get in your way, they listen to the many commands you can give them with a press of a button, secure evidence and incapacitate enemies without being specifically instructed to, and hold their own in firefights. Those firefights are often against enemies.
You've got all your proper SWAT gear, weapons and other tactical equipment that would be necessary for these jobs. This game features 4 weapon categories. Assault rifles, shotguns, SMGs, and pistols. You're also equipped with pepper spray, a taser, SWAT shield, lock picker, wire cutters and more. Basically all the tools you would need to help assist with the job! Every SWAT team member is also strapped with a body cam, and you are able to select through any players body cam whenever you think it's necessary. It's a good way to give other teammates a better idea of someones whereabouts or what sort of situation they're currently in. It can be useful in a lot of ways. Players must choose their loadouts carefully to help survive these tense missions which is what I like because it means planning out the jobs and being fully prepared. To me, it seems like the development team put a lot of thought and effort into this game and the community feedback really shows it.
Also the environment and the setting of the game, it really makes you feel like you're actually there. It's raw, real-like and gritty and each map looks distinctive which really sets the tone of the game. Each house or building you advance towards, has this dark and devastating feel to it, like you can almost tell immediately that something grim is going on behind those doors. And speaking of maps, this game is fully mod supported. Custom maps, weapons including guns and attachments, gear and other 'quality of life' mods that will help enhance your gameplay experience. There's so many mods that have been created for this game that it will be hard to get bored of and I would definitely love to experiment with some of these mods eventually. Playing the game purely vanilla and getting the hang of it all first is of greater importance but the fact it is mod supported just gives you endless possibilities of pure enjoyment.
Now on to an older game really quickly. So if you guys have ever played SWAT 4 or at least heard of it, then Ready or Not will sound very familiar to you. Like Ready or Not, SWAT 4 is also a tactical SWAT game, where raiding buildings, rescuing hostages and arresting criminals are your main priorities. Ready or Not is very much inspired by this older game that came out around 2005 on PC. Of course, Ready or Not is more current (13th December 2023) and up to date with better gameplay mechanics etc. For example, some doors are wired up with tripwire. Instead of barging through every door like a maniac, you must take in to consideration that some doors can be rigged to blow. This can be tackled though by first peeking through the doors, and then snipping the wire with your trusty wire cutters. Some doors may be locked though so what do you do? Don't worry, you can also carry a lock picker with you, but if you don't have one, maybe someone else in the team is carrying one. If you're a bit hesitant on opening doors because of that stressful feeling rushing through your body, then there's another way. Players have the option of carrying a mirror with them. You can use this to your advantage as you can slide these mirrors under the door gap. This gives you the upper hand as you have the opportunity to spot enemies before they spot you. You can then inform your teammates of the enemies locations, giving your teammates a little bit more time to get their selves prepared. You can also slide them under doors to find out whether or not a door has been wired up. The mirror - such a simple item, but can be a lifesaver! Some other realistic mechanics featured in this game are not being able to sprint. I like this because it give you the ability to clear rooms effectively like how it's supposed to be done. Like how it is done. Sprinting through hallways like some cracked Call Of Duty player takes away that realism. This also means that catching up to suspects who are trying to flee the scene make it more challenging. So perhaps working with your team to form some sort of formation or maybe getting someone to hold doorways would be a great way to tackle these situations. Something else I found out that makes the game a bit more challenging is sustaining injuries. Lets say for instance you get shot in the arm. You will find it a bit tougher to be able to fire your weapon like controlling the recoil etc. And sustaining an injury to the leg will prevent you from kicking down doors, limiting your options before breaching rooms. This really puts you into perspective of what being in the force is sort of like. Obviously this is just a game, but most games make it look much more simpler that what they are supposed to portray whereas Ready Or Not takes it up a level in my opinion.
Another small detail that I like is being able to collect evidence during raids for example, when a criminal drops his weapon, you can then bag it up and collect it as evidence which will then determine your rank at the end of each mission. See in my opinion, having a rank assigned at the end of mission completion gives you that little extra bit of motive to play the game properly which is what I fully intend to do. The rank you get is based off of how much you achieve during your missions and how many objectives you complete. Ready or Not is very slow-paced and deliberate compared to other shooters. It requires a lot of time and patience so rushing through the missions is very likely to backfire. Every so often, you may be under intense pressure, and you may not have time to think about your next move. You may accidentally shoot a civilian which will obviously penalize you and that plays a big role on the outcome of your player rank. There's numerous types of evidence to collect. Weapons, documents, drugs and a lot more which I think is a nice realistic element to add in a game like this.
I also know there's lots of different kinds of game modes and missions that have different points of interests and scenarios to immerse yourself into. Some missions being more complex than others which I like the sound of because too many of the same thing can feel a bit repetitive, so I like how each mode gives you a different experience altogether. The modes included in this game so far are Hostage Rescue, Active Shooter, Raid, Bomb Threat and Barricaded Suspects. I know the titles of these modes give you a clear understanding of what they involve but I don't know how these game modes will play out and what to fully expect. How they work, how challenging they are etc. I have tried not to look yet as I simply don't want to spoil it for myself. I wan't to go in the game completely fresh and take it all in step by step. This game is like a breath of fresh air and with everything I've read up on and seen so far, it just sounds astonishing.
As I mentioned a little bit in my introduction, I am very familiar with FPS games. I've played other FPS games that require the same sort of skills required for Ready or Not. For example, communication skills. I would consider myself a team player. I am very vocal and always give out important call outs and info, especially in vital moments. I can implement all the stuff that I have learnt from previous games and use that to my advantage. And as the A.I are pretty smart, I can also put my gun play skills to the test. Holding angles, peeking around corners slow and steadily, handling the weapon itself by controlling the recoil, tossing a flashbang through doors and rush B! Okay that might of been a CS reference.. But yeah hopefully you guys get my point. Overtime, I've been able to get better and better at previous FPS games as I've always grinded to improve myself and I plan to devote many hours of my life into this game to do the exact same thing. I'm fully invested in this game and I haven't even played it yet lmao.
I heard the community is friendly and welcoming for the most part. Of course there's going to be a few negatives just like every community that exists but that is to be expected. According to some of the comments in this Reddit post most people haven't experienced much toxicity so this is quite reassuring, especially to new players who are trying to get to grips with the game. And even some steam reviews people have claimed that they haven't experienced much toxicity. The community is filled with a mixture of players. Some play it on a more serious level whereas some are more casual players who are playing just for fun. There's a wide range of discord servers out there to play with other people and I would hopefully like to be apart of some of them, especially if my friends aren't playing. I'd like to imagine where I could possibly pick up new things from these players. I usually pick up on things pretty quick so it shouldn't be much of a problem getting up to speed with everyone else. I am a gamer after all :). Although what I can say is, I've already learnt quite a bit already by just doing some research on the game.
Now I know this next point may sound a bit silly and doesn't add or change anything about the game, but I wanted to talk about this as I thought it was really commendable. Of course being a tactical SWAT officer, is a very high-risk high reward kind of job. Every job taken place is unpredictable and you don't know what to expect. In some cases, not all jobs involve gunning down hostile enemies. As we know, there's a pretty common term out there known as 'Swatting'. Swatting is basically alerting the police of a very threatening occurrence happening at someone's address when in fact this is nothing more than complete lies. This happens pretty commonly to live streamers as they are an easy target I guess, or the fact that you get to see everything unfold live. Well I wanted to point this out because in one of the trailers for Ready or Not, this exact situation happens. There is no dialogue, just sort of a retro upbeat tune playing in the background which contrasts to the events actually happening. The first scene displayed are 4 SWAT forces making entry into an ordinary looking property. My first reaction to this is they are about to enter into a very critical situation, maybe a hostage situation? or maybe a highly dangerous, wanted man? Well the next scene, introduces us to what appears to be a normal looking guy, with bright blue hair and your typical e-girl cat eared headphones sitting at a nice and rich looking gaming setup. On one of the monitors, you can clearly see a live chat feed, clearly implying that this guy is a live streamer and reality hits you that this guy is about to get swatted. Now I don't see this being part of the actual gameplay as it would probably be too short and not a lot of gameplay elements would be added. I could be wrong though and there might be more involved, but the attention to detail in this trailer is superb! Being apart of the armed forces isn't always about stepping in dangerous environments, it's also about answering silly prank calls whilst being totally unaware. I have to put my hat off to whoever created this trailer for making this game even more real to today's society. It just caught my attention and that's something I just wanted to kind of write about.
The game is still fairly new. It was released on Steam 17th of December, 2021 in early access and was fully released just before last Christmas. But the developers are actively working on the game, bringing out new content and updates regularly. They also love to listen to the community feedback a lot, so most updates they bring out are input given from their dedicated fan-base. They also have a YouTube channel called 'VOID Interactive', where they give out very informative descriptions of the game that can be very accommodating to new players. Check out their latest video 'Ready or Not - SWAT AI vLog' which is a good example of how informative they are. You can also see how much progress they've made since the project first started, starting from 6 years ago all the way up until now which shows their level of dedication and commitment to this game.
If someone does happen to gift me this game, I will be able to experience it for myself and will probably have a lot more to say about the game. Based off of all the reviews I've read and all the clips I've watched, the game looks really promising! and speaking of 'promising', I promise to whoever gifts me this game, your money will NOT be wasted and I will be EXTREMELY grateful. So yeah, I would really love to delve deep into this game with my buddies. We have always talked about getting the game at some point. We play a lot of games together but this will be something completely unique and fresh to play. But I've been anxious to play this game for so long, regardless if my buddies get the game or not, I can be a lone wolf, directing my little A.I friends every step of the way to success and taking out all these filthy crooks and criminals one by one! So thanks to those who take the time to read my request.
A quick summary.
I know this is a long and probably boring post so I will just summarize some points why this game is fantastic and why I really want to dive into it.
● Realistic/ immersive feel.
● Clever A.I (Teammates and Enemies).
● Proper tactical weapons/ equipment.
● Wide-range of missions and scenarios.
● Several game mode types to spice up the gameplay
● Variety of maps (Some more complex than others).
● Top-notch game mechanics.
● Heavily relies on teamwork and communication.
● Great with friends or as a solo player.
● Each approach is handled differently.
● Actions can lead to consequences.
● Environment is very gritty and atmospheric.
● A lot of small details that brings this game to life.
● A mixture of emotions this game puts you through.
● Player ranks.
● Fully mod supported.
● Great community.
● Active development team bringing updates on the regular.
Conclusion.
Once I finish my last year of sixth form, I would like to start earning money for myself. With this money I would like to give back to this amazing community and be able to spread kindness and joy to others. Yes, I want to be in the position of being able to gift games too! Right now I'm unfortunately not able to do that. Money is an issue for me and that's why I'm requesting this game. So fingers crossed, someone out there can make me a happy guy and let me play this gem of a game. I've done my research the past few months and I can say with hand on heart, that this game is something I fell in love with the minute I found out about it. Thank you for reading my request. Take care guys and gals and good luck to everyone else out there who are also requesting games!
So.. Ready or Not? I most certainly am Sorry about that one xD
My Steam profile: https://steamcommunity.com/id/dafydd2k/
Ready or Not: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1144200/Ready_or_Not/
2024.05.27 16:00 -343-Guilty-Spark- 343 Plz Weekly Thread
Hey everyone. This week's 343 Plz thread has arrived.
You can also check out the 343 Plz announcement thread here: https://www.reddit.com/halo/comments/ud70v9/introducing_343_plz_a_list_made_from_your_feedback/
submitted by -343-Guilty-Spark- to halo [link] [comments]
343 Plz List
| Feedback Item | Date Added | Game |
|---|---|---|
| Improve theater functionality | January 25, 2023 | Halo Infinite |
| Add matchmaking rejoin | January 3, 2023 | Halo Infinite |
| Add an option to limit menu FPS | October 10, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Finish the work on Campaign split-screen support and introduce it | September 5th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Fix or remove overactive text chat censorship | July 11th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Prioritise and fix desync | June 27th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Rework or remove rarity on items | June 27th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Add Multi-Team | June 5th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Allow all items in the in-game store to be purchased at all times | June 5th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Add Assassinations | May 28th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Introduce the Match Composer, similar to MCC | May 28th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Bring back old emblems and allow for better customisation over them. | May 28th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Revert changes to slide momentum jumps made in Season 2 | May 15th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Introduce more social features and support | May 10th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Enable player collision for friendlies | May 9th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Bring back pre- and post-game lobbies | May 3rd, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Add remaining Halo Online maps to Halo 3 in MCC | May 3rd, 2022 | Halo: The Master Chief Collection |
| Introduce more body type options, including more "feminine" options similar to previous games | May 3rd, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Enable color on armor attachments outside of certain kits | May 2nd, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Allow for more control over color customization | May 2nd, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Improve/Address aiming and aim assist issues on Xbox and PC | May 2nd, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
343 Plz List Implemented/Changed
| Feedback Item | Date Added | Date Changed | Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add Mark IV armor for MP | October 23, 2023 | Operation: Spirit of Fire | Halo Infinite |
| Implement Cross-Core Customization | May 2nd, 2022 | Operation: Spirit of Fire | Halo Infinite |
| Improve custom games stability and drastically increase the custom game options available | May 16th, 2022 | December 5th, 2023 | Halo Infinite |
| Bundle duplicate/repeating items (e.g. shoulders) in passes | November 7th, 2022 | Season 5 | Halo Infinite |
| Add a Mark VI Gen 3 (Chief's armor in the campaign) core or set for MP | May 19th, 2022 | Season 5 | Halo Infinite |
| Add Firefight or a PvE mode | May 9th, 2022 | Season 5 | Halo Infinite |
| Redesign the User Interface | May 9th, 2022 | Season 5 | Halo Infinite |
| Make Squad Battle a permanent playlist | July 17, 2023 | August 9, 2023 | Halo Infinite |
| Fix asymmetrical vehicle spawns in Big Team Battle | January 3, 2023 | August 9, 2023 | Halo Infinite |
| Add the 'Infection' game mode | June 13th, 2022 | June 20, 2023 | Halo Infinite |
| Separate Event Challenges into their own deck | May 15th, 2022 | March 21, 2023 | Halo Infinite |
| Add an option to disable enemy shield outlines | February 20, 2023 | Season 3 | Halo Infinite |
| Reduce kill effects or let players adjust/toggle them | July 11th, 2022 | December 6, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Improve the KBM experience by addressing balance issues and pursuing other QOL refinements | May 10th, 2022 | December 6, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Enable 'red reticle' on the PC version | May 3rd, 2022 | December 6, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Rebalance the VK78 Commando | May 2nd, 2022 | Winter Update | Halo Infinite |
| Rework or replace the Challenge system | May 7th, 2022 | Winter Update | Halo Infinite |
| Team Slayer" challenges should be able to progressed in all Team Slayer modes, not just the Team Slayer playlist | May 2nd, 2022 | Winter Update | Halo Infinite |
| Implement ray tracing | November 1st, 2022 | Season 3 | Halo Infinite |
| Accommodate lower population regions better | July 18th, 2022 | Winter Update | Halo Infinite |
| Add Region/Server selection, similar to MCC's implementation | May 7th, 2022 | Winter Update | Halo Infinite |
| Rework MMR / Global Rating | May 23rd, 2022 | Winter Update | Halo Infinite |
| Keep MCC free of microtransactions | July 18, 2022 | September 14th, 2022 | Halo: The Master Chief Collection |
| Allow us to access the unreleased Halo: Reach armor from Season 1 | May 28th, 2022 | December 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Reduce effect of or remove scope glint entirely | May 3rd, 2022 | August 25, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Add more loading screen images | May 4th, 2022 | June 14th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Fix different UI elements stuck in indefinite or very long loading wheels | May 2nd, 2022 | June 14th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
| Improve Scorpion Tank Controls | May 2nd, 2022 | June 14th, 2022 | Halo Infinite |
- Most recently added items are in bold
- You can find the full list along with thread examples for these topics and if/how 343 has acknowledged them on the 343 Plz wiki page
A reminder on how 343 Plz works:
- 343 Plz is a comprehensive list of wildly popular suggestions/feedback relating to Halo games. This will be a list that is generated by the community and will be visible to everyone. Users can submit a request to include an item on 343 Plz and, provided it meets the criteria, it will be added the following week alongside the weekly thread.
- The 343 Plz list will be on both our wiki as well as the weekly sticky thread. The sticky thread will provide a prominent place on halo to routinely list and discuss these items, as well as suggest new ones.
- Once a topic has been added to 343 Plz, it will be 'retired' from the subreddit until there is either significant news relating to the topic, or if the actual topic is added/changed to the game.
You can also check out the 343 Plz announcement thread here: https://www.reddit.com/halo/comments/ud70v9/introducing_343_plz_a_list_made_from_your_feedback/
How do I submit to 343 Plz?
- Find at least three threads submitted on Halo over the past few months with 300+ upvotes; threads/comments from other communities will not be considered
- Submit your idea and the required threads either in this sticky or via this Mod Mail template
- If your idea does not have the required threads, it won't be added; instead, you are encouraged to make a standalone post about your topic
What is the point of this weekly thread?
The point of this weekly thread is to organize and sticky popular community feedback for 343, allow discussion of these 'retired' items, and suggest new ideas for 343 Plz.2024.05.27 08:50 7ciryl i feel like im cursed
ive never been able to comprehend the idea of death. children tend to not understand concepts such as these, but i never grew to fully grasp what death truly is. sure, theyre gone, but it always has felt like they just stopped being in my life rather than in life itself. that being said, i feel like ive experienced more loss than most people do at my age.
this post does include mentions of suicide, cancer, and other possibly heavy topics.
11 - my uncle had drowned in a lake i grew up swimming in, despite being with friends who knew he didnt know how to swim. they were out on a boat because he loved fishing, but when it came to what happened, they all told different stories, and his death was deemed just an accident. i was meant to go to his funeral, but my mom never took me because it was an open casket, and she felt as though i was too young to attend. i appreciate that decision today, but i still refuse to swim, and my family never understands why.
12 - i had an online friend who meant the world to me. looking back on it, i realize i had feelings for her and never got the chance to tell her. in july of that year, a little over a month before her birthday, she sent me a text. i read the first sentence of the long message and had this bad feeling in my gut. i never had experience with suicide before this, but something just didnt feel right. i called her immediately, and she did pick up, but a selfish part of me wishes i hadnt called. she was crying and telling me how much she loved me, but she couldnt "do this anymore," then i heard a thud. she wasnt responding to me, and within a few excruciatingly long minutes, i heard her mom, whom i was somewhat close with, scream. it haunted me for so long, and sometimes still does. i was never able to attend her funeral, and this is when my own suicidal ideation began.
14-15 - while i wont go into complete detail because id be here forever, i started dating this girl while i was 14 during the summer before my sophomore year. in the beginning, she was the sweetest and most loving girl. though, towards the end of january of the following year, when i was newly 15 (born in nov), she started to act weird. when i told her i had just found out my aunt had passed, she started acting weird, and we were never normal again. while i was grieving, she started to withdraw from our relationship and always claimed it to be a depressive episode whenever i confronted her about it. she was easily irritable, secretive, defensive, all the signs were right in my face. this is when she had started talking to the guy shed later cheat on me with. she had always been a bit manipulative, but from this point until we broke up for the final time, it got worse. she had become verbally abusive, constantly berating me and telling me im the problem. we broke up once in march of that year, which i found out was because she had started dating the guy she was talking to a month prior, then she got back together with me at the beginning of april for a week before breaking up with me again and blocking me everywhere. this sent me into temporary insanity as she had completely isolated me from everyone but her prior to breaking up with me. i felt like my entire life had fallen apart and that i was the horrible person she made me out to be. shed later unblock me for a bit before telling me to take my life and blocking me again for the final time, and i had genuinely considered it. alas, im still here, writing this.
15 - as i mentioned in the previous paragraph, my aunt had died in january, two months after my 15th birthday. ive been surrounded by substance abuse my entire life -- which is why i hate it when my friends talk about their addictions now -- mostly consisting of cigarettes, alcohol, and occasionally drugs from extended family. my aunt was a smoker and had gotten lung cancer a year prior to her passing, but "beat it" six months before that day. we threw a party for her at her home, but when i realized she was asleep in her bedroom through the whole thing, i just had this bad feeling i couldnt shake. everyone said she was just tired from the chemotherapy, so i left it be. turned out, she hadnt stopped smoking, and a combination of her throat swelling from her treatment and her smoking her way back to lung cancer would later lead to her passing. this was the first funeral id be able to attend. it was an open casket, and it did change me. though it just looked like she was sleeping the entire time, seeing her laying there like that left me a different person. on top of that, i had drama going on with my friends and at the time girlfriend, so i had no one to go to about this. they knew, but they were never really there. i didnt even cry at the funeral. it took me months before i cried. i sometimes have dreams about her.
16 (now) - i recently lost someone who i wasnt incredibly close to, but id still consider a good friend. he went to my school, was a volunteer firefighter, had gotten his emt license less than a week before he passed, and was just an amazing guy all-around. he took his life may 10th, a friday night. i found out the next morning from a friend who knew him longer than i did. his death was one i grieved instantly for some reason. i cried that day, and the next, and especially the first day back to school since i had found out. i went to his celebration of life, along with hundreds of people, including: classmates, the fire team, the police team, his friends, his family, his girlfriend, it was like everyone in town was there for him. he had done it just a week before his 18th birthday. he was so close to graduating, and i just wish i knew what went wrong.
two weeks later, this girl i was "friends with benefits" with, i guess, broke things off with me because it was "too much rn." that was 4-5 days ago, and we havent talked since. she was the only thing keeping me grounded in life. shes been such a sweetheart, and i cant help but feel like i treated her like shit. was it me? was there someone else? was it truly just too much for her? i dont know. i just wish i knew. i miss her.
not technically yesterday, because its 2am while im writing this, but i guess the day before i got into an argument with a friend of mine, whom i happened to have a romantic history with, but no longer have. it wasnt necessarily a fight, but she sure made it one. short run-down of it: i trusted her enough to tell her that the way she was treating me was upsetting me after she suggested i talk to her instead of a friend of mine who shes never liked. i told her that i cant do that because she always appears to be mad at me or just uninterested, and she grew defensive and practically ignored my point the entire conversation. she was saying things like, "youre acting like im some evil abusive monster," despite me delivering it gently and trying to communicate with her, not demonize her or call her a shitty person. shes always been defensive whenever i try to talk about these things with her, but its never ended how it did the other night. she blocked me, only on the platform we were arguing on, which confused me but nevertheless was upsetting.
ive lost a lot of friends over the years, and i left a lot of it out of this post, but i tend to attract these horrible people who make my life harder when its already in such horrible spots and i have no idea how.
right now, im grieving so many people, and one of the three most recent i cant ever speak to again. its one thing if they left my life, i can try to fight for them back, or even just hope that ill see them again one day, but hes forever gone and theres nothing i can do about it. i miss everyone so, so much. my life was just getting better, and now ive lost everything in less than a month. i feel so alone. my constant suicidal ideation ended back when i was 14, only really popping up when it came to that one ex-girlfriend of mine, but lately, its been so terrible. id never do anything, i couldnt ever do anything, but i want it to be over so, so bad. i guess passive suicidal ideation is the term for it. im just so lost, so tired, and so done.
i feel as though everyone around me dies one way or another, like im somehow causing all of this by being in their lives. i know thats not possible, but it feels like its a better idea to never be around anyone again. i could never hurt them that way or lead them to getting hurt, yknow? i want them to be happy. i just want them to be okay.
this post was way longer than it should have been, and i still didnt even say everything i wanted to say, but i feel its best to stop now. if you took the time to read all of this -- thank you.
submitted by 7ciryl to GriefSupport [link] [comments]
this post does include mentions of suicide, cancer, and other possibly heavy topics.
11 - my uncle had drowned in a lake i grew up swimming in, despite being with friends who knew he didnt know how to swim. they were out on a boat because he loved fishing, but when it came to what happened, they all told different stories, and his death was deemed just an accident. i was meant to go to his funeral, but my mom never took me because it was an open casket, and she felt as though i was too young to attend. i appreciate that decision today, but i still refuse to swim, and my family never understands why.
12 - i had an online friend who meant the world to me. looking back on it, i realize i had feelings for her and never got the chance to tell her. in july of that year, a little over a month before her birthday, she sent me a text. i read the first sentence of the long message and had this bad feeling in my gut. i never had experience with suicide before this, but something just didnt feel right. i called her immediately, and she did pick up, but a selfish part of me wishes i hadnt called. she was crying and telling me how much she loved me, but she couldnt "do this anymore," then i heard a thud. she wasnt responding to me, and within a few excruciatingly long minutes, i heard her mom, whom i was somewhat close with, scream. it haunted me for so long, and sometimes still does. i was never able to attend her funeral, and this is when my own suicidal ideation began.
14-15 - while i wont go into complete detail because id be here forever, i started dating this girl while i was 14 during the summer before my sophomore year. in the beginning, she was the sweetest and most loving girl. though, towards the end of january of the following year, when i was newly 15 (born in nov), she started to act weird. when i told her i had just found out my aunt had passed, she started acting weird, and we were never normal again. while i was grieving, she started to withdraw from our relationship and always claimed it to be a depressive episode whenever i confronted her about it. she was easily irritable, secretive, defensive, all the signs were right in my face. this is when she had started talking to the guy shed later cheat on me with. she had always been a bit manipulative, but from this point until we broke up for the final time, it got worse. she had become verbally abusive, constantly berating me and telling me im the problem. we broke up once in march of that year, which i found out was because she had started dating the guy she was talking to a month prior, then she got back together with me at the beginning of april for a week before breaking up with me again and blocking me everywhere. this sent me into temporary insanity as she had completely isolated me from everyone but her prior to breaking up with me. i felt like my entire life had fallen apart and that i was the horrible person she made me out to be. shed later unblock me for a bit before telling me to take my life and blocking me again for the final time, and i had genuinely considered it. alas, im still here, writing this.
15 - as i mentioned in the previous paragraph, my aunt had died in january, two months after my 15th birthday. ive been surrounded by substance abuse my entire life -- which is why i hate it when my friends talk about their addictions now -- mostly consisting of cigarettes, alcohol, and occasionally drugs from extended family. my aunt was a smoker and had gotten lung cancer a year prior to her passing, but "beat it" six months before that day. we threw a party for her at her home, but when i realized she was asleep in her bedroom through the whole thing, i just had this bad feeling i couldnt shake. everyone said she was just tired from the chemotherapy, so i left it be. turned out, she hadnt stopped smoking, and a combination of her throat swelling from her treatment and her smoking her way back to lung cancer would later lead to her passing. this was the first funeral id be able to attend. it was an open casket, and it did change me. though it just looked like she was sleeping the entire time, seeing her laying there like that left me a different person. on top of that, i had drama going on with my friends and at the time girlfriend, so i had no one to go to about this. they knew, but they were never really there. i didnt even cry at the funeral. it took me months before i cried. i sometimes have dreams about her.
16 (now) - i recently lost someone who i wasnt incredibly close to, but id still consider a good friend. he went to my school, was a volunteer firefighter, had gotten his emt license less than a week before he passed, and was just an amazing guy all-around. he took his life may 10th, a friday night. i found out the next morning from a friend who knew him longer than i did. his death was one i grieved instantly for some reason. i cried that day, and the next, and especially the first day back to school since i had found out. i went to his celebration of life, along with hundreds of people, including: classmates, the fire team, the police team, his friends, his family, his girlfriend, it was like everyone in town was there for him. he had done it just a week before his 18th birthday. he was so close to graduating, and i just wish i knew what went wrong.
two weeks later, this girl i was "friends with benefits" with, i guess, broke things off with me because it was "too much rn." that was 4-5 days ago, and we havent talked since. she was the only thing keeping me grounded in life. shes been such a sweetheart, and i cant help but feel like i treated her like shit. was it me? was there someone else? was it truly just too much for her? i dont know. i just wish i knew. i miss her.
not technically yesterday, because its 2am while im writing this, but i guess the day before i got into an argument with a friend of mine, whom i happened to have a romantic history with, but no longer have. it wasnt necessarily a fight, but she sure made it one. short run-down of it: i trusted her enough to tell her that the way she was treating me was upsetting me after she suggested i talk to her instead of a friend of mine who shes never liked. i told her that i cant do that because she always appears to be mad at me or just uninterested, and she grew defensive and practically ignored my point the entire conversation. she was saying things like, "youre acting like im some evil abusive monster," despite me delivering it gently and trying to communicate with her, not demonize her or call her a shitty person. shes always been defensive whenever i try to talk about these things with her, but its never ended how it did the other night. she blocked me, only on the platform we were arguing on, which confused me but nevertheless was upsetting.
ive lost a lot of friends over the years, and i left a lot of it out of this post, but i tend to attract these horrible people who make my life harder when its already in such horrible spots and i have no idea how.
right now, im grieving so many people, and one of the three most recent i cant ever speak to again. its one thing if they left my life, i can try to fight for them back, or even just hope that ill see them again one day, but hes forever gone and theres nothing i can do about it. i miss everyone so, so much. my life was just getting better, and now ive lost everything in less than a month. i feel so alone. my constant suicidal ideation ended back when i was 14, only really popping up when it came to that one ex-girlfriend of mine, but lately, its been so terrible. id never do anything, i couldnt ever do anything, but i want it to be over so, so bad. i guess passive suicidal ideation is the term for it. im just so lost, so tired, and so done.
i feel as though everyone around me dies one way or another, like im somehow causing all of this by being in their lives. i know thats not possible, but it feels like its a better idea to never be around anyone again. i could never hurt them that way or lead them to getting hurt, yknow? i want them to be happy. i just want them to be okay.
this post was way longer than it should have been, and i still didnt even say everything i wanted to say, but i feel its best to stop now. if you took the time to read all of this -- thank you.
2024.05.27 06:49 Herban_Myth Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis receives 27 bills. Here’s what happens if they become law (Credit: Anthony Talcott)
 | Published by Anthony Talcott (5/22/24)Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received another batch of 27 bills on Tuesday, covering issues like homeowners’ associations, flood disclosures on home sales, and surrendered infants.He has until June 5 to act on these bills. According to the Legislative Analyses, these bills would do the following: HB 59 — HOA Rules and CovenantsHouse Bill 59 aims to change some of the rules surrounding homeowners’ associations.Specifically, the bill would require HOAs to provide a physical or digital copy of their rules and covenants to each of its members by Oct. 1 — as well as to all new members going forward. In addition, the bill would require HOAs to provide an updated copy of its rules to its members whenever they are updated. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 141 — Economic DevelopmentHouse Bill 141 aims to eliminate several requirements related to the Regional Rural Development Grants Program.That program is meant to help rural communities use their resources to attract new businesses into their areas. Under HB 141, the following changes would take place: Removes requirements for grant funds received by a regional development organization to be matched each year by nonstate resources in an amount of 25% of state contributions Removes the requirement for local governments and private businesses to make financial or in-kind commitments to the regional organization Removes the requirement that the Florida Department of Commerce consider the demonstrated need of the applicant for assistance when approving participants for the program If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 149 — Continuing ContractsHouse Bill 149 aims to increase the limit for continuing contracts covered by the Consultants’ Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA).The CCNA was passed in 1973, and it requires state and local governments to procure services from professionals like architects and engineers on the basis of qualifications rather than price. In addition, the CCNA doesn’t prohibit continuing contracts, which are contracts where a hired firm provides services on several projects. HB 149 would up the maximum threshold for continuing contracts under the CCNA from an estimated per-project construction cost of $4 million to $7.5 million (plus an annual increase based on the CPI). If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 293 — Hurricane Protections for HOAsHouse Bill 293 aims to improve hurricane protections for homeowners’ associations.Under this bill, HOAs would have to adopt hurricane protection specifications for each structure governed by the HOA. Those specifications can include factors like the color and style of hurricane protection products. Additionally, HOAs would be prohibited from denying applications to install or replace hurricane protection by a parcel owner — just so long as it conforms with the HOA’s adopted specifications. According to the Legislative analysis, “hurricane protection” includes roof systems; permanent fixed or roll-down track storm shutters; impact-resistant windows and doors; polycarbonate panels; reinforced garage doors; erosion controls; exterior fixed generators; and fuel storage tanks. If approved, the bill would go into effect upon becoming law. HB 385 — Safe Exchange of ChildrenHouse Bill 385 aims to set rules for parents of a common child.Specifically, the bill would require each sheriff to designate at least one parking lot for parents of a common child to safely exchange the child. These parking lots would have to include a purple light or signage and have a camera surveillance system to improve security. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 481 — HVAC System RegulationsHouse Bill 481 deals with construction regulations involving HVAC systems.The bill would expand the scope of work for certain HVAC system contractors to include specified line-side repairs or replacements, as well as the repaireplacement of specific components for HVAC circuits. In addition, HB 481 would prohibit an HVAC system warranty from being conditioned on product registration. Instead, the full length of such a warrant’s coverage term would begin on the date a contractor installed the system. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 535 — Low-Voltage Electric FencesHouse Bill 535 aims to clarify rules surrounding low-voltage electric fences.Specifically, the bill would clarify that a nonelectric fence or wall must only be completely enclosed on the outside perimeter of a low-voltage electric fence, but it doesn’t have to be completely enclosed on both sides. In addition, the bill would require a low-voltage electric fence to be 2 feet higher than the perimeter nonelectric fence or wall. Beyond that, the bill seeks to make local governments allow low-voltage electric fences in areas not exclusively zoned for single- or multi-family residential use. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 705 — Public Works ProjectsHouse Bill 705 aims to amend the definition of “public works project” under state law.Current law prohibits the state or political subdivisions that contract for a public works project using state funds from imposing certain requirements on contractors for these projects. Under HB 705, the definition would include all projects paid for with local funds as well as state-appropriated funds. The bill also seeks to clarify that the definition doesn’t include goods, services or work that are incidental to these projects. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 775 — Surrendered InfantsHouse Bill 775 increases the age at which an infant may be surrendered.Florida’s “Safe Haven Law” allows parents who are either unwilling or unable to care for their newborn infants — up to 7 days old — to surrender them at hospitals, fire stations and EMS stations. However, HB 775 would up the age limit from 7 days old to 30 days old. In addition, the bill would let parents leave their infant with hospital medical staff after the child has been delivered. To do so, parents would have to notify staff that they are voluntarily surrendering the child. HB 775 would also let a parent call 911 and request to meet with an EMS provider so that the parent can surrender the infant. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 855 — Dental ServicesHouse Bill 855 aims to revise dentistry standards in Florida.Specifically, the bill would establish requirements for dentists to provide patients with the following information: Dentist’s name Contact telephone number After-hour contact information for emergencies License information In addition, the bill would require dentists to perform an in-person examination on a patient (or review records from an in-person exam from the last 12 months) before making an initial diagnosis and correction for malpositioned teeth or the use of an orthodontic appliance. This requirement only affects dentists who providing services via telehealth. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 1049 — Flood DisclosuresHouse Bill 1049 aims to require residential property sellers to provide a flood disclosure to a buyer.This disclosure would have to be provided by the time the sales contract is executed, and it would need to have the following details: The form’s title must be labeled “FLOOD DISCLOSURE.” A flood insurance policy disclaimer must be provided stating, “Flood Insurance: Homeowners’ insurance policies do not include coverage for damage resulting from floods. Buyer is encouraged to discuss the need to purchase separate flood insurance coverage with Buyer’s insurance agent.” The seller must state whether he or she has filed a claim with an insurance provider relating to flood damage on the property. The seller must state whether he or she has received federal assistance for flood damage to the property. If approved, the bill would go into effect on Oct. 1. HB 1093 — FUFIPAHouse Bill 1093 aims to codify the Florida Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act (FUFIPA) into law.The act would replace the Florida Uniform Principal and Income Act (FUPIA), which governs the allocation of trust and estate receipts and disbursement between principal and interest when a Florida trust doesn’t provide its own terms for such allocation. According to Legislative analysts, the changes would modernize the state’s trust law, allowing for total-return investing under the modern portfolio theory. In addition, FUFIPA would allow an existing trust to be converted into a unitrust, and provide flexibility for more individualized estate planning. If approved, the bill would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. HB 1161 — Homestead ExemptionsHouse Bill 1161 would require the Florida Department of Revenue to provide a form for county property appraisers to use to verify the eligibility of a veteran or surviving spouse who believes they qualify for an exemption under state statutes when purchasing a homestead property.This form would only be allowed to be issued if the person involved provides the documentation necessary to qualify for the exemption. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 1203 — Homeowners’ AssociationsHouse Bill 1203 aims to make several changes involving homeowners’ associations in the state.These changes include: An HOA with 100 or more parcels must post certain official records on the HOA’s website by Jan. 1, 2025. Community Association Managers and HOA directors must satisfy educational requirements. HOAs may not limit the interior of a home when that space can’t be viewed from the front of the property, an adjacent property, an adjacent common area or a community golf course. HOAs may not require the review and approval of plans for a central A/C, refrigeration, heating or ventilation system by the HOA if such system is not visible from the front of the property, an adjacent property, an adjacent common area or a community golf course. HOAs may not prevent a homeowner from installing vegetable gardens if they aren’t visible from the front of the property, an adjacent property, an adjacent common area or a community golf course. HOA officers, directors or managers could face criminal penalties for accepting a kickback. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 1259 — Cardiovascular ServicesHouse Bill 1259 aims to amend license requirements for Level I Adult Cardiovascular Service (ACS) programs.More specifically, the bill allows these programs to perform adult percutaneous cardiac intervention for the treatment of chronic total occlusions, as well as use atherectomy devices or electrophysiology when performing this procedure. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 1363 — Traffic EnforcementHouse Bill 1363 would add requirements to the state statutes, which authorizes red light cameras.If passed, the bill would require county governments to pass an ordinance to authorize the installation of traffic infraction detectors after July 1, 2025 (so long as they’re in an area where no such detectors are already installed). Counties using these detectors would also have to annually report the results of all traffic infraction detectors at a public meeting. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. HB 7009 — Baker Act Record ExemptionsHouse Bill 7009 involves the Open Government Sunset Review Act.This act requires the state Legislature to review each public record exemption five years after enactment, though if the Legislature doesn’t reenact the exemption, it automatically repeals on Oct. 2 of the fifth year after enactment. In this case, the Florida Mental Health Act — also known as the Baker Act — has public record exemptions for confidential admissions regarding mental health treatments under the Baker Act. However, these exemptions are set to be repealed on Oct. 2. As a result, HB 7009 seeks to prevent these public record exemptions from being repealed. If approved, the bill would go into effect on Oct. 1. HB 7085 — Sickle Cell DiseaseHouse Bill 7085 aims to create the Sickle Cell Disease Research and Treatment Grant Program within the Florida Department of Health.Under this program, FDOH officials would award grants to community-based sickle cell disease research and treatment centers. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. SB 556 — Protection from Financial ExploitationSenate Bill 556 aims to provide more protections for specified adults ages 65 years and older, as well as vulnerable adults who might be victims of financial exploitation.Under this bill, financial institutions could delay disbursements or transactions of funds from an account of a specified or vulnerable adult under the following conditions: There is a reasonable belief that financial exploitation of the specified adult is at play. The financial institution provides written notice to all parties authorized to transact business on the account (as well as trusted contacts) within three business days after the delay was first placed. A state-chartered financial institution notifies the Office of Financial Regulation of the delay within three business days after the delay was first placed. The financial institution must start an internal review of the facts that caused the employee to believe that financial exploitation was at play. Any such delay in a disbursement/transaction would expire in 15 business days, though it may be extended for an additional 30 business days. If approved, the bill would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. SB 644 — Rural Emergency HospitalsSenate Bill 644 aims to establish a new hospital designation type: “Rural Emergency Hospital.”Under this bill, rural hospitals licensed in FY2010-2011 or FY2011-2012 would have their licensure expiration date moved from June 30, 2025 to June 30, 2031. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. SB 808 — Treatment by a Medical SpecialistSenate Bill 808 aims to amend state statutes regarding first responders.The bill would allow firefighters, law enforcement officers, correctional officers and probation officers to receive medical treatment for a compensable presumptive condition by his or her selected medical specialist. Treatment by a medical specialist under this bill would be reimbursed at no more than 200% of the Medicare rate for a selected medical specialist. If approved, the bill would go into effect on Oct. 1. SB 812 — Residential Building PermitsSenate Bill 812 would require certain local governments to create a process to expedite building permits based on a preliminary plat under specific circumstances by Oct. 1.In addition, local governments would have to update their expedited building permit program with certain increased percentages by Dec. 31, 2027. If approved, the bill would go into effect upon becoming law. SB 938 — DentistrySenate Bill 938 aims to remove the state’s Board of Dentistry (BOD) and Department of Health from the dental examination administration process.Specifically, the bill would revise the dental licensure requirements by: Deleting language that requires dental students who have completed the necessary coursework to prepare for the ADEX to wait until their final year of dental school to apply for licensure Deleting the National Board of Dental Examiners’ dental exam as obsolete, and replacing it with the exam administered by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations Deleting an alternate pathway to dental licensure by having an active Florida health access dental license and meeting certain practice requirements Requiring that an out-of-state licensed dentist who is applying for licensure in Florida must disclose to the BOD during the application process whether he or she has been reported to the NPDB or the AADBC Allowing anyone who fails the licensure examination as a dentist or dental hygienist to retake the examination. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. SB 1142 — Occupational LicensingSenate Bill 1142 aims to amend state statutes regarding the registration of specialty contractors.The bill would allow contractors in good standing who have been registered with a local jurisdiction in 2021, 2022, or 2023 to qualify for a registration when the jurisdiction has determined not to continue issuing local licenses or exercising disciplinary oversight of such licensees. If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. SB 1350 — SalvageSenate Bill 1350 involves the salvage of motor vehicles, mobile homes and boats.Specifically, the bill would: Incorporate vessels into the definition of “independent entity” for incorporating vessels into the salvage certificate of title statute Define “major component parts” of electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles for verifying the source of these parts during the rebuilt inspection process Require that if the owner maintains possession of a total-loss vehicle or mobile home, that owner or insurance company notify the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to receive a salvage certificate of title or a certificate of destruction Incorporate damaged or dismantled “vessel” to the salvage statute and provide procedures for the release and application for titling by an independent entity in possession of the vessel Reenact statutes related to the sale of specified motor vehicles and the rebuilt motor vehicle inspection program to incorporate changes to the definition of “major component parts” If approved, the bill would go into effect on July 1. SB 1456 — Areas of Critical State ConcernSenate Bill 1456 aims to make changes to state law regarding the Florida Keys as “Areas of Critical State Concern.”The Florida Keys were dubbed as such in 1975, including the areas of Islamorada, Marathon, Layton, Key Colony Beach, and unincorporated Monroe County. Under this bill, hurricane evacuation clearance time criteria would be revised, and land authorities would be authorized to require compliance with income limitations on land conveyed for affordable housing by memorializing the original land authority funding or contribution in a recordable perpetual deed restriction. The bill also exempts counties and municipalities in areas of critical state concern within the past five years from having to provide assistance to very-low-income and low-income persons. This is for such places where the state Legislature has already declared an intent to provide affordable housing, and it would make it so that these local governments would not have to pay from their local housing assistance trust funds. Lastly, a county that has been designated as an “Area of Critical State Concern” and that levies a tourist development tax and tourist impact tax would be allowed to use the accumulated surplus from those taxes (incurred through Sept. 30) for affordable housing. If approved, the bill would take effect on July 1. SB 7054 — Private Activity BondsSenate Bill 7054 aims to revise state statutes regarding private activity bonds.These types of bonds are issued by state or local governments and used to give special benefits to firms that are undertaking certain kinds of projects — typically those in the public’s interest. Among minor changes, this bill would: Provide Legislative intent to maximize the annual use of private activity bonds to finance improvements, projects and programs serving public purposes Revise the regions, pools and timelines related to bond allocations to consolidate infrequently-used pools and expedite usage of bonds Allow for all volume cap allocated in a confirmation to be entitled to be carried forward, rather than limiting to specific types of projects or basing it on the amount of the confirmation If approved, the bill would take effect on Jan. 1, 2025. |