Acrostic poems with the name bill

i lik the bred

2017.03.23 18:51 Hasnep i lik the bred

Poems based on this one about a cow licking bread by Poem_for_your_sprog: my name is Cow, and wen its nite, or wen the moon is shiyning brite, and all the men haf gon to bed - i stay up late. i lik the bred.

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2012.06.25 02:24 Gravity Falls

The subreddit for the Disney animated show Gravity Falls, created by Alex Hirsch.

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2016.04.14 06:38 Welcome to madness.

Legion is a television series created for FX by Noah Hawley (Fargo), based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is connected to the X-Men film series, the first television series to do so. Dan Stevens stars as David Haller, a mutant diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age. Rachel Keller, Jean Smart, Aubrey Plaza, Jeremie Harris, Katie Aselton, and Bill Irwin will also star.

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2024.06.02 07:52 Pretty-Sir-5219 Friend issue need advice

Hey everyone, I want to ask if for your opinion and what to do from here.
Yesterday I encountered a problem with a close friend of mine. I know i'm the one in the wrong but I don't understand why all the blame has been pushed on me.
So for context, the friend has broken up with her ex for 1 year they are still back and forth and she helps him out with his work although she found this new man recently and has been crying over him which we have kept it a secret from him and i didn't tell him anything at all. Me, single and I do appreciate all her efforts and help i have received from this friend in terms finding a place to stay (yes i paid the rent, bills, stuff for the house and bond) The ex did help me to pay for it first and i paid him back through labour and working for him. I really am grateful for everything that they have done for me especially been put through a financially bad position as I was scammed of my whole savings. I don't have a parking bay as there's only 1. So i have already accumulated parking fines over 3k this year alone and am very low on money from this. Sometimes i can't even park anywhere outside as all the spots has been taken.
Ok for starters i was asking her hey since you keep pushing me to date your ex (even though he still has feeling for her) why don't i send a nude to him for money in return? She said I can do it and she doesn't care. Which i have taken into much consideration and wasn't planning on doing. Up until the ex bf called me asked me how i was which i was normal and civil and then the financial comment came up and i told him yes i am very broke and don't have money (This guy is my boss as well). So he proceeded to send me $50 and i said he didn't have to and felt bad then he said its to help me out cause i have helped him alot and then i was like ok i'll send you a photo (Which wasn't a nude) and i told him how i asked my friend and she said go ahead she doesn't care. I didn't get the chance to tell her yet and he told her first then she blew up. Saying that I have betrayed her and i'm two faced and i should have asked her first which i told her that it wasn't my intention and i was going to tell her and that she said she doesn't care and go ahead. She then came back with how she does care and that i have broken the girls code and that i'm a hypocrite (This is because when she was crying and feeling depressed from him, i always supported her and told her he isn't a good man in a relationship which is true as he order her around and is very demanding and always changes his mind). I always tell everyone that he is a good friend but i do not wish to work for him further but i made a promise so i still am and he isn't good for a relationship for the way he treats her. Even with her new man when she's been crying over him, I have always comforted her and never said she was wrong or anything she did was wrong cause that's what friends do. She then proceeded to say i'm a hypocrite for talking shit about her ex then accept the money and send the photo and she has helped me find a place, to getting work (working for her ex which i receive very little and they finance it into the rent bond that i have already paid off through selling my laptop and bills) and accusing me of talking bad about her to my friends. I told her I haven't and always said good things about her despite the way i feel at times (there was a massive fight between her and her ex and physical stuff happened and i tried to calm both of them down and then i was yelled at for no reason although she did apologise afterwards and that i didn't deserve that). She has been a good friend listening to my complaints and knows that i get overwhelmed very easily and cooks and clean for me from time to time.
Moving forward, now i'm stuck and not sure what to do. I know i fucked up on our friendship and i apologised as well as asked her what does she want me to do now, ive already unsent the photo and said i will never do that again (even if she says she doesn't care and to go ahead)? Also she told me how i'm not really apologetic and that i am two faced which she hates and how i have betrayed her. I really care for her and we live together so it's a tough situation. What should i do? Am i deserving a name of a traitor?

submitted by Pretty-Sir-5219 to FriendshipAdvice [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 07:48 Pretty-Sir-5219 aita Friends issue need help

submitted by Pretty-Sir-5219 to Amitheassholeadvice [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 06:59 Ok-Cartographer-5544 Stanford vs Harvard vs Part-Time Booth?

Hey everyone. I am in the fortunate position to choose from the best options for MBAs, and wanted to get your opinion on which would be best. My goal is to be a CTO or start a business.
I am currently employed as a software engineer and make ~250k/yr. I would prefer to stay employed, which makes a part-time MBA (Booth) appealing. Stanford and Harvard are both incredible name brands, so I would prefer them if it makes sense to do them, however.
I'm also a veteran, so I would be able to get all of these paid for completely with the GI Bill. My main cost would be the opportunity cost of not working if I decide to go that route.
In my mind, I have 3 options:

Booth part-time while working.
Stanford/Harvard full time while working.
Stanford/ Harvard full time without working.

What is the best route to take? Thanks in advance for the info.

submitted by Ok-Cartographer-5544 to MBA [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 06:51 chocolatecauldrons Part II: The Anthology - An Analysis of Each Track

Thank you guys for all your nice comments on my previous post! Here's my followup post walking through the anthology - I apologize for the delay, but I wanted to sit with this half of the album a bit longer. This analysis will be slightly different: first I’ll go through themes present throughout the anthology, and then walk through each song individually, since it’s not as consecutive of a story as the first album. As with my first analysis, I tend to also stay away from literal details as proof that a song is about a certain subject or muse – to me, it’s easier to understand the album when you think first about what the song’s overarching meaning is, rather than getting caught up in literal details (and I think Taylor often throws these in as red herrings). Moreover, it’s important to note that it’s likely that the literal detail she’s thrown in is one that only she and the muse will understand (i.e. her referencing a lilac skirt in imgonnagetyouback is unlikely to be one we’ve ever seen her wearing in public, so it’s useless to paternity test based on that detail!).
Firstly, the word anthology means a collection of assorted literary works. As a result, I think there are more themes scattered through this album, and it’s meant to be a little harder to parse than the first one. I think this album is what TTPD would have been before it crystallized into a tighter theme – similar to the 3 AM tracks for Midnights, the majority of which were written prior to the standard edition’s tracks.
There are a few themes throughout this album. From a romantic context, to me, this album is primarily about Joe. I’ll walk through why I believe that, but this album feels less muddled to me in terms of its muses, and I think that is in part due to the fact that her self-described mania from the standard edition is not a theme on the anthology. This work also covers her own relationship to celebrity and fame, and how that affects her romantic relationships and her personal life in general. And finally, I think the final theme throughout this collection is the idea of childhood, of formative experiences, and how our author goes about processing events that happen to her.
The Black Dog
What happens when you intimately know someone, when you share every aspect of your life with someone, and then it's over? Six weeks after their breakup, she’s barely holding it together (“I move through the world with the heartbroken”). She even tried to rebound her pain away (“I took the miracle move on drug, the effects were temporary”), and wasn’t able to succeed. Meanwhile, she sees him go to a bar, and she has the sudden realization that he may be able to do what she failed to do – he might be able to move on, with someone new. Reckoning with that realization is horrifying. If he is able to pull it off, what does that mean about the love they shared? When he had told her for years that he was who he was for her, and her alone?
You said I needed a bravе man
Then proceeded to play him
Until I believed it too
And it kills me
How could they go from being so intimate that they shower together, that she’s aware of his every move, to being so distant from each other that she wonders if making her fall in love with him was a hazing? And the cruelest part of it is – she doesn’t want either one of them to be able to move on, and give validity to the fact that they weren’t right for each other, even though she knows they have to. Moreover, she’s already *tried* to move on at this point, and failed – she tried to manufacture a counterfeit version of their intimacy, but what if he’s able to perfectly replicate it? And to really drive in the knife, what if it’s with someone younger than her?
And you jump up, but she's too young to know this song
That was intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming
Given that a theme throughout the first album was her feeling like she’d given him so much of her youth, so much of her childbearing years, with nothing to show for it, what does it feel like to know that he can essentially reset time, by being with a younger woman, but she’ll never be able to get that time back?
imgonnagetyouback
We know that her and Joe took a break or two while they were together (see: Hits Different, The Great War, in addition to PR articles). To me, this song is about when you do take that break from your partner, and you’re trying to make a point to them that they’re not going to find anyone better than you (I can tell when somebody still wants me, come clean) – the two of you are too intimately intertwined to find a suitable replacement. You know what to wear, what to say, what to do to bring them back to you:
I, I hear thе whispers in your eyes
I'll make you wanna think twice
You'll find that you were never not mine
This song also has a lot of similarities to So Long, London, which is why I attribute it to Joe. To me, it provides a deeper story to some of the lines she touches on in So Long, London:
I didn't opt in to be your odd man out
I founded the club she's heard great things about
And to some of the lines in Hits Different:
I washed my hands of us at the club
You made a mess of me
I pictured you with other girls in love
Then threw up on the street
//
Bet I could still melt your world
Argumentative, antithetical dream girl
imgonnagetyouback is a story of one-upmanship – of trying to out-jealous your partner, of proving to them that nobody knows them better than you do. And maybe this time when they’re both playing this game, it works:
Push the reset button, we're becomin' something new
Say you got somebody, I'll say I got someone too
Even if it's handcuffed, I'm leavin' here with you
//
We broke all the pieces, but still wanna play the game (Oh)
Told my friends I hate you, but I love you just the same
Pick your poison, babe, I'm poison either way
The spacing to me is a deliberate red herring (the 1975 very famously made a song called fallingforyou), and a way to illustrate that the subject of the song wants space from her – but she’s not going to give it to him. This is another theme that calls back to Joe – in So Long, London, she describes him as constantly pulling away (Pulled him in tighter each time he was driftin' away). Matty didn’t pull away – he was all in for two weeks, until he chose to ghost her, and leave abruptly. There was no slow death, no push and pull to her relationship with Matty – it was a meteoric rise and fall.
The Albatross
This song feels like a sister song to “peace” – she describes what it’s like to love her. It’s a little more twisted, however, as she describes her love for her partner as both a danger, and a rescue from the danger she’s imposing on him by being involved with him:
Wise men once said
"Wild winds are death to the candle"
A rose by any other name is a scandal
Cautions issued, he stood
Shooting the messengers
They tried to warn him about her
She’s described herself as wind and liquor in her relationship with Joe previously, in Mastermind:
I'm the wind in our free-flowing sails
And the liquor in our cocktails
She has empathy for the narrator, but disdain for herself. There’s also acceptance though: she knows that she tried to prevent it, and tried to warn him about the danger she posed. In the end though, he chose this life with her, and he chose the danger – there’s only so much she can protect him from.
The devil that you know
Looks now more like an angel
I'm the life you chose
And all this terrible danger
Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
This song feels like another sister song to The Black Dog – how does she cope with the idea that her long-time partner might move on? How does she cope with the fact that if she chooses to leave, she also chooses the future in which they both move on? A future in which they don’t know each other? It also touches on her wondering if she should move on with Matty, and how feasible it would be to know someone else instead of her partner:
If you want to tear my world apart
Just say you've always wondered
This song, more than anything else, illustrates that moving on with Matty was nothing but a way to move past Joe – what she really wants, more than anything, is a response greater than indifference from Joe:
As the decade would play us for fools
And you saw my bones out with somebody new
Who seemed like he would've bullied you in school
And you just watched it happen
There’s also the realization that Joe may never love who she is now – who she was at the beginning of their relationship will always be who he prefers:
If you want to break my cold, cold heart
Just say, 'I loved you the way that you were'
She’s trying desperately to find some way to make up for the fact that she had to leave Joe, that there was nothing she could do to stay – she tried changing everything about herself, but still, the need to leave him eventually caught up with her:
I changed into goddesses, villains and fools
Changed plans and lovers and outfits and rules
All to outrun my desertion of you
And you just watched it
And she wonders whether despite his indifference, and the distance between them, she should still stay:
Could it be enough to just float in your orbit
Can we watch our phantoms like watching wild horses
Cooler in theory but not if you force it
To be, it just didn't happen
But now, they are merely ghosts of who they once were – it’s not possible to force the relationship anymore.
How Did It End?
When a long-term relationship ends, you can point to the factors that led to its demise: a difference of opinions on money, on marriage, on children, and so forth. It is easy to determine the “what” and the “why” of an ending. But what is harder to diagnose is how you both became the versions of yourselves that weren’t on the same page, that were unable to discuss these topics, that couldn’t move past these dilemmas. That is much, much harder to pinpoint, and this is the question Taylor asks in this song. She knows what killed them:
We hereby conduct this post-mortem
He was a hot house flower to my outdoorsman
//
We were blind to unforeseen circumstances
We learn the right steps to different dances (ohh)
And fell victim to interlopers' glances
Lost the game of chance, what are the chances?
But what she still doesn't know is how it happened – how did it end? She also finds the empathy from the media and from the public to be false and selfish – they only want to know what happened to feverishly spread the news like wildfire.
Come one, come all
It's happenin' again
The empathetic hunger descends
We'll tell no one
Except all of our friends
We must know
How did it end?
//
Soon they'll go home to their husbands
Smug 'cause they know they can trust him
Then feverishly calling their cousins (ohh)
//
Say it once again with feeling
What the feeding frenzy wants more than anything is gossip, and they don’t care that she is utterly lost – lost as to why this happened, and lost physically and mentally:
Guess who we ran into at the shops?
Walking in circles like she was lost
How does she give an answer to quell the empathetic hunger, when she herself doesn’t understand exactly how it happened?
So High School
In an album that touches so much on feeling like she’s running out of time to have the future that she wants, and running out of youth to give the various men who come into her life, it is interesting and heartwarming that the song about Travis on the anthology is one that describes being with him as regaining her youth:
The brink of a wrinkle in time
Bittersweet sixteen suddenly
Moreover, another detail to note in this song is the difference in how she describes alcohol and drugs – in nearly every other song on TTPD, alcohol is a vice she uses in her moments of despair, and drugs are what her previous partners turn to in their moments of strife (she also describes the influence of drugs on her partners as something she detests – “sinking in stoned oblivion” and “you needed me but you needed drugs more”). With Travis, she’s not imbibing in any substances – instead, his thoughts and jokes are enough for her:
I'll drink what you think, and I'm high
From smoking your jokes all damn night
Travis is giving her back her youth, making sober promises, and the impression that we get is that they’re building this dreamlike reality together – it’s wholesome, all-American, and high-school-inspired, yet still grounded in something tangible, unlike the promise of fate and destiny, which powered her relationship with Joe and her entanglement with Matty.
I Hate It Here
More than anything, I think this song illustrates how Taylor sometimes uses escapism and maladaptive daydreaming to ignore the reality of the situation she’s dealing with. She recognizes that it’s not possible to stay where she is, locked inside this prison of stagnation and boredom:
If comfort is a construct
I don't believe in good luck
Now that I know what's what
She recognizes that this isn’t what she used to be, and that she never intended to choose this life of secrecy, perhaps alluding to all those years she spent “locked inside her house”:
You see I was a debutante in another life but
Now I seem to be scared to go outside
She describes herself as finding hope in the places her mind creates (seemingly alluding to her creation of characters and places for folklore and evermore):
I hate it here so I will go to
secret gardens in my mind
People need a key to get to
The only one is mine
I read about it in a book when I was a precocious child
And her escapism into her past, and imaginings of what could have been:
I hate it here so I will go to
Lunar valleys in my mind
When they found a better planet
Only the gentle survived
I dreamed about it in the dark
The night I felt like I might die
All throughout the song, there’s recognition that she doesn’t want to be here – she doesn’t want to feel as if the only place she can be free is in these imaginary worlds she creates. But there’s also concession – is she perhaps only destined for an eternal consolation prize? For loneliness? For imagined romanticism? For the fantasy of how she imagined her life and her love to be?
I'm lonely but I'm good
I'm bitter but I swear I'm fine
I'll save all my romanticism for my inner life and I'll get lost on
purpose
This place made me feel worthless
Lucid dreams like electricity, the current flies through me,
and in my fantasies I rise above it
And way up there, I actually love it
thanK you aIMee
This song, along with a few others in the latter half of the anthology, discusses the loss of innocence she felt in key moments of her life. This one quite obviously alludes to Kim Kardashian, and their infamous feud. I will make a separate post on this, but I think people describing this song as petty may not remember the depth of the hate aimed at Taylor in 2016. Kim and Kanye organized a revenge porn music video for Famous, and held a museum exhibit so that people could take pictures with the naked dolls. The night the snapchat videos were released, every Kardashian family member descended upon social media to gleefully celebrate the #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty. The amount of hate Taylor got was so unprecedented that Instagram actually built their comment filtration system because of this incident. It really was that bad.
And every baby step Taylor took (for example, even just posting that she had a good 2017 was met with immediate media backlash) was quite literally mocked across the internet. People thought the reputation era was cringey, that she was over, and that she deserved everyone’s ire because she was “proven” to be a liar. She describes this in the song:
Each time that Aimee stomped across my grave
And then she wrote headlines in the local paper
Laughing at each baby step I'd take
And it was always the same searing pain
But the whole time, despite the pain and blood, she was dreaming of the day that she would heal, and dreaming of the day that she would climb her way back to to the mountaintop:
And our town, it looks so small from way up here
//
So I pushed each boulder up that hill
Your words were still just ringing in my head, ringing in my head
What still irks her though, is that this bully who created this entire hate train and organized her downfall will pretend as if it never happened – she will undoubtedly reframe things to make our subject seem overdramatic, petty, and unable to move past the incidents of years ago. Taylor, however, has always been clear about one thing: sometimes, no amount of time can heal you from something that deeply traumatized you.
I Look in People’s Windows
This song to me feels like a sister song to The Black Dog, but a few months after the official end of a relationship. A sub theme that runs through Taylor’s songs about the Joe breakup is the loss of being understood – when you are no longer with a long-term partner, how do you cope with the fact that you move the world knowing everything about this person, but at the same time, not knowing them anymore? Would you peek into their windows just to get a glimpse of what their life looks like now? As anyone who has gone through a breakup knows, the hardest part is often not being privy to the mundane details of that person’s world – their dinner parties, their wine, their friends, and so on.
I look in people's windows
Transfixed by rose golden glows
They have their friends over to drink nice wine
I look in people's windows
In case you're at their table
What if your eyes looked up and met mine
One more time
The Prophecy
The prophecy is devastating. More so than any other song Taylor has ever written, it is full of desperation and longing. All she asks for is to be known, to be understood – to not be perceived as an idea of a woman, or a starlet with no humanity:
Please
I've been on my knees
Change the prophecy
Don't want money
Just someone who wants my company
Let it once be me
Who do I have to speak to
About if they can redo
The prophecy?
It’s striking especially considering how much she laments that leaving Joe means she’s giving up being known – it’s also striking given the fact that in the epilogue poem, she states that neither Joe or Matty ever truly knew her:
He never even scratched the surface
of me.
None of them did.
What she desires beyond fame, beyond notoriety, beyond money, is to be loved and to be known. The song also alludes to her being in therapy, and to finding some sort of consolation that she will find someone to share her life with:
I'm so afraid I sealed my fate
No sign of soulmates
I'm just a paperweight
In shades of greige
Spending my last coin so someone will tell me
It'll be ok
Cassandra
This track is a sister song to thanK you aIMee, and continues exploring the theme of fraught public womanhood we see in Clara Bow and Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me. In this song, Taylor discusses how the validation of women is never publicized in the way that the crucifixion of them is:
When the first stone's thrown, there's screaming
In the streets, there's a raging riot
When it's "Burn the bitch, " they're shrieking
When the truth comes out, it's quiet
Moreover, when women speak up about an issue, they’re often viewed as overdramatic, and unserious. Cassandra, in Greek mythology, was cursed by Apollo to always predict the future accurately, but never be believed. We see this happen every day to women in politics, in the media, and in pop culture:
So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst
And tried to tell the town
So, they set my life in flames, I regret to say
Do you believe me now?
And for Taylor, it’s reminiscent of all the times she’s been the first to speak out about something in the industry – for example, against Scooter Braun and his well-established pattern of bullying, or of the exploitation of artists on streaming services – but never been supported broadly by her peers. They believe her later, but at that point, very few people give her the credit for speaking up in the first place. It’s reminiscent of the Kimye scandal. When the news broke originally, the hatred she received was widespread. But when she was acquitted by the long-form video that leaked, it didn’t receive anywhere near the level of coverage that the original scandal received.
Peter
Peter is another song that touches on both the male muses for this album, and in turn, on the promises various men have given her over her life (we’ll circle back to this in The Manuscript!). It also touches on the theme of waiting that’s seen throughout this album, especially on her songs about Joe – how much time is enough time to give?
Both Matty and Joe were 25 when they met her, and it’s abundantly clear that both men made promises to her: promises of marriage, of children, and of a future. But how long can she wait for these promises to be fulfilled? To Joe, she gives six years of her life and youth, and to Matty, she gives him a chance to prove that he was reformed from the time she knew him last: both men eventually fail. Neither man is ready to give up their childish whims, and she has no choice but to lose hope that either of them ever will.
And you said you'd come and get me but you were 25
And the shelf life of those fantasies has expired
Lost to the lost boys chapter of your life
Forgive me Peter, please know that I tried
To hold onto the days when you were mine
But the woman who sits by the window has turned out the light
Another thing to note is the interesting double meaning of the song title. To peter also means to diminish gradually – much like her faith in both men’s promises.
The Bolter
A lot of the songs Taylor has written about Joe in this album deal with the question of “when is the right time to leave?” When you know that things are stagnant, and you know that you’ve given everything you have to a relationship, you know that you have to leave – but it’s easy to convince yourself if you have a history of “leaving before you get left” that you should ride out this wave, and that this pain might just be temporary.
The Bolter, to me, reflects on Taylor’s history – it seems like she prided herself on being able to see the warning signs, and being able to get out in time.
She's been many places with
Men of many faces
First, they're off to the races
And she's laughing drawin' aces
But, none of it is changin'
That the chariot is waitin'
Hearts are hers for the breakin'
There's an escape in escaping
It’s relevant to TTPD, because likely, she saw not bolting as a sign of growth and maturity. You know that you’ve grown as a person when you don’t abandon ship at the first sign of trouble, but what if there are so many signs of trouble that the truly mature thing to do would be to leave?
Robin
Robin leads into this theme of childhood and innocence that we see further in The Manuscript. The track name is also the name of Aaron Dessner’s child. She ponders how beautiful and sweet it is that we work so hard to protect childhood naivete:
Strings tied to levers,
slowed down clocks tethered,
all this showmanship
To keep it, for you,
In sweetness
And there’s an element of wistfulness to it – don’t we sometimes wish that we could also be protected from the worst the world has to offer?
You have no room in your dreams for regrets
You have no idea
The time will arrive for the cruel and the mean
You'll learn to bounce back just like your trampoline
But now we'll curtail your curiosity
The Manuscript
This song is perhaps the most climactic song on the album. It covers her romantic history up until that point, and starts at the moment she feels everything went awry – and it predates Joe and Matty. Instead, it calls back to the first time she experienced a proper heartbreak, and the first time she lost her childlike innocence in the world – her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal (a time she described as her transition from childhood to womanhood). She describes how they compared licenses, and how he told her that if they had sex, and it was as good as the conversation was, then they would get married, and have a family. He was the first man to make her these promises:
He said that if the sex was half as good as the conversation was
Soon they'd be pushin' strollers
But soon it was over
He tells her that it’s ok that they have an age gap, because she’s so advanced for her age:
She thought about how he said since she was so wise beyond her years
Everything had been above board
She wasn't sure
While dating him, she desperately wants to be older, and starts emulating his behavior:
In the age of him, she wished she was thirty
And made coffee every morning in a French press
And when it’s over, she regresses, and turns back into a child – unable to sleep alone without the comfort of her mother, and unable to eat anything substantial besides the sugary cereal of her youth:
Afterwards she only ate kids' cereal
And couldn't sleep unless it was in her mother's bed
She forces herself to date boys her own age, to not rely on the maturity of an older man to guide her through adulthood, but she can’t help but feel disappointed in their youth:
Then she dated boys who were her own age
With dart boards on the backs of their doors
Finally, as she creates the All Too Well short film, she recognizes the damage he did to her, and how the consequences of that affair have shaped her life since:
And the years passed
Like scenes of a show
The Professor said to write what you know
Lookin' backwards
Might be the only way to move forward
Then the actors
Were hitting their marks
And the slow dance
Was alight with the sparks
And the tears fell
In synchronicity with the score
And at last
She knew what the agony had been for
Everything calls back to this first man, and these original promises – everything she’s been chasing since is reminiscent of this first scar. And just like how releasing All Too Well transformed and healed her, she hopes that by releasing this additional manuscript into the world, it will heal her again. As she describes in the epilogue poem, she is entering all her thoughts, emotions, and pain into evidence – she now asks the audience to process it with her, and thus conclude this process of healing.
The only thing that's left is the manuscript
One last souvenir from my trip to your shores
Now and then I reread the manuscript
But the story isn't mine anymore
If you read all of this - thank you! I enjoyed writing it, and I'm excited to discuss with you all in the replies :)

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2024.06.02 06:41 Hazeylicious Refund from Energy Supplier via Voucher

I received an email from a previous energy supplier saying I am due a refund. Great! However, it also states that it will be issued via a voucher that can be cashed at a post office. Not so great!
I am aware that refunds should be offered/issued by the same method used to pay, and I obviously did not pay my bill using vouchers, rather a monthly direct debit.
For me to get to a post office and home again would cost around £25 (I would need to get a taxi), where the refund being offered is £22.
I’m unsure what to do. Should I email them and provide my bank account number and sort code? Should I phone them to request it gets paid into my bank account? If they refuse to issue it to my bank account, how best should I proceed?
The email is as follows:
We are contacting you in relation to an account you previously held with Electric Ireland, which was closed on Sunday 20 September 2020. Following a recent internal review, we have identified a credit on your account. This should have been refunded to you when you closed your account.
We wish to refund the payment of £22.00. This will be issued in voucher form and can be redeemed at any Post Office.
We need to confirm your details to post the voucher.
Please claim your refund using one of the below methods:
By visiting our website and completing the online form.
OR
FreePhone: 0800 313 4926 and then press option 6 (Mon-Fri 8.30am to 7pm)
OR
Emailing: support@electricireland.com Please state the ID Code reference above and your name and current address including postcode.
Once you have confirmed your details, we will post the voucher within 14 days with instructions on how it can be redeemed.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Yours sincerely,
Rob Williamson OPERATIONS MANAGER Electric Ireland

submitted by Hazeylicious to LegalAdviceUK [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 06:32 TowerReversed Canonical/recurring magical items that "infect" someone with another person's memories

i debated for a while where best to ask this question. WvP seems a little too far removed from someone practicing a discipline of real-world magic (this question is not about litigating the existence of magic IRL). and asking the actual witches subreddit seemed disrespectful. eck cetera.
ultimately i think this might actually be the best place to ask regardless, given the nature of my project.
So my question, restated, for the TL;DR's among you: Within the canon of literary fantasy, are there any well-established/iconic/recurring items (or types of items) that permanently "infects" someone with the memories of another person upon interaction?
the item name and the work it's from would more than suffice, more or less looking for fruitful research leads instead of someone burning up a bunch of time ona whole explanation.
Mind you, i'm not talking about like ultra-cinematic stunlocked-by-overwhelming-revelation--a la something akin to a Palantir--it's more like the character interacts with the object--maybe trying to investigate it or just holding onto it as a trinket--and seemingly nothing happens. and then the "infected" character starts having dreams that they intuit as alien to their own experiences, as some kind of intrusive presence that they don't understand.
My immediately-instinctive choice was a grimoire, written by the person whose memories do the "infecting", forgive my recurring clunky placeholder. A hand-penned grimoire seems like the easiest solution for my needs, but i wanted to see if there was, perhaps, some other precedent that already routinely fills this kind of role in established fantasy. i tried looking up "legendary books", as-in perhaps a mythological book commonly believed to install knowledge in the reader's mind against their will. but no matter which why i applied my google-fu, it was just a procession of books ABOUT legends and mythology. trying to go the oblique route by researching something like the Ars Goetia wasn't a fruitful approach either. and i couldn't really find anything else that overlapped with this particular need.
I suppose, riffing on the Palantir even though it doesn't really fit the bill in its canonical form, something like the intruding person's leftover divination tools of whatever kind might also be viable options, but i'd like to see what y'all think before i lock this detail in. If possible i'd like to avoid outright explaining something like this if i can. or at least minimizing how much windup it takes to get the reader on board with this concept within their suspension of disbelief.
if something like it already exists i might be able to riff on it (this isn't a commercial endeavor, i'm not concerned about situationally borrowing an idea to save words lol), or read the work that contains it and get some inspo on how that author expressed the details of the item and use that as a springboard.
Either way, thanks in-advance! As always 💯

submitted by TowerReversed to fantasywriters [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 06:31 Pretty-Sir-5219 Friends issue

submitted by Pretty-Sir-5219 to u/Pretty-Sir-5219 [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 06:16 wannabeemefree Landlord is stupid AF

First time posing here. So I've rented my place for 10 years now. Got the first 8 it was with a couple and it was their only property (besides their own home). It had been the wife's house after she divorced her first husband. She had the downstairs and rented the upstairs. When she got married she rented both units (older house from 1890s divided into 2 apartments).
Everything wa great. Rent was reasonable, they were good with maintenance (although the husband was t the best at fixing things and sometimes was a bit of an ass). And They sold 3 years ago and a local property management company took over. At the time the new company took over the upstairs s.central air broke and water.would poor into the bedroom.

The management didn't know anything about our property. They told us the upstairs.has tomtilt their AC out the window more. We explained that it's Central AC they need professional to come out. They finally got someone out but we had to beg them to fix the ceiling. Of course it's the managers special of white spray paint! Luckily there's no mold.
The weird thing about our property is that the water is all connected and their is 1 hot water heater for both units which is on my gas meter. So essentially we pay for the gas to heat the water the upstairs uses (and they take showed like 4 times a day it seems like).

The previous owners would pay the utility and give is a $25 credit for the hot water and we would just pay them the amount for gas for heating the water
Now there was a lot of trouble getting this straight with the new management. They first tried to bill upstairs people for out electric. Then they had to do an inspection because they didn't believe that there was only 1 water heater. Finally after like 4 months it's figured out. For the last 2 years we got utilities in our name and they just took $25 off the rent. So instead of $825 it was $800. Well rent went up to $850 and I asked about the $25. They said that it was included in the price. I said I was confused because in the past the lease always had the higher amount $825 listed and then their was a credit given. They said no you are getting the $25. Specifically "thats the offer. You can take it or you can vacate"
So now I'm paying for the upstairs A-Holes hot water. 3. I don't actually know if the water and sewer bill is correct. They say that it's split evenly between the 2 units but they don't show the bill from the city. I have half a mind to go down to city hall and show proof of residency and see if they will show me the amount. I feel like 3- 4 hundred dollars is a bit much (i live in Wisconsin so water is not as expensive or limited like other states). Our quarterly bill is anywhere between $75 to almost $200. If it is split it would be $150-$400

submitted by wannabeemefree to LandlordLove [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 06:01 HorrorIsLiterature Weekly "What Are You Reading Thread?"

Welcome to HorrorLit's weekly "What Are You Reading?" thread.

So... what are you reading?

Community rules apply as always. No abuse. No spam. Keep self-promotion to the monthly thread.

Do you have a work of horror lit being published this year?
in 2024 HorrorLit will be trying a new upcoming release master list and it will be open to community members as well as professional publishers. Everything from novels, short stories, poems, and collections will be welcome. To be featured please message me (u/HorrorIsLiterature) privately with the publishing date, author name, title, publisher, and format.
The release list can be found here.

submitted by HorrorIsLiterature to horrorlit [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 05:57 AccurateShoulder4349 ULPT: Give people you don't like gift cards with a $0 balance but have $50-100 written on them.

If you have someone you don't like, a good way to ruin their day/evening is getting them a restaurant gift card that has a $0 balance but physically write in an amount in the box where you declare the value. EX: A $100 Steakhouse gift card. I used to do this when I was a kid for teachers I didn't like and put them in thank you cards and sign them using names of other kids or bullies in my school I didn't like. The main school office had mailboxes for the teachers so students/staff members could give them notes/gifts and I would sneak them in when nobody was looking. If they don't check the balance, they will probably take their family out to dinner at a place they would have never planned on going, rack up a big bill, and be stuck with it after the waiter tells them there's a $0 balance.

submitted by AccurateShoulder4349 to UnethicalLifeProTips [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 05:48 WildlyIncoherent Potentially painstaking opportunity to help me identify birds in a music video I made

I made a song that made me think of birds, and so I went to Pexels and got a lot of bird footage. I made a music video full of birds and uploaded it yesterday.
Here is the video [in 4k if your YouTube settings allow it] (Wildly Incoherent – “Fly Away”): https://youtu.be/6GK8wTnOWWc?feature=shared
What I want to do soon on YouTube is add chapter markers to the video so that the birds are identified. I figured, why not? I’ll get to learn something, and so will anyone who wants to listen / watch the video.
There are 44 shots in this video. If you know the name of the bird that appears in the numbered shot/time and are willing to help, please leave a comment and I will edit the list below.
If anybody wants to help, I would appreciate it so much. I’ll be sure to credit this subreddit in the video description.
5: Hard to tell but probably Ring Billed gulls and or Herring gulls 6: House sparrows 7: Black headed Gull? 8:Atlantic Puffin 9: Some kind of Motmot? 10: Ring Billed Gull 11: Australian Pelican 12: Chilean Flamingos 13: Rock Dove/Pigeon 14: Quail chick? 15: Barn Swallow 16: 17: 18: Northern Cardinal Male and Female 19: Black headed gulls until 25 20: 21: 22: 23: 24: 25: Black chinned Hummingbird? Could be an immature ruby throated too 26: Mute Swan 27: 28: African Penguin 29: Mallards 30: Graylag goose 31: 32: Rock Pigeons 33: 34: More pigeons 35: House sparrows 36: African Penguins 37: Brown Pelican? 38: 39: 40: Black headed gulls again 41: 42:
(thank you so much to u/SpanishFlu and u/leigh_hunt

0:00 – 0:03 Mute Swan
0:04 – 0:09 Canadian Geese
0:10 – 0:18 Mute Swan
0:19 – 0:23 Firey Billed Aracari?
0:24 – 0:26 probably Ring Billed gulls and or Herring gulls
0:27 – 0:30 House Sparrows
0:31 – 0:35 Black headed Gull?
0:36 – 0:40 Atlantic Puffin
0:41 – 0:44 Some kind of Motmot?
0:45 – 0:49 Ring Billed Gull
0:50 – 0:54 Australian Pelican
0:55 – 0:57 Chilean Flamingos
0:58 – 1:00 Rock Dove/Pigeon
1:01 – 1:02 Quail chick?
1:02 – 1:03 Barn Swallow
1:04 – 1:04
1:05 – 1:08
1:09 – 1:10 Northern Cardinal Male and Female
1:11 – 1:12 Black headed gulls
1:13 – 1:17 Black headed gulls
1:18 – 1:23 Black headed gulls
1:24 – 1:27 Black headed gulls
1:28 – 1:32 Black headed gulls
1:33 – 1:37 Black headed gulls
1:38 – 1:42 Black chinned Hummingbird? Could be an immature ruby throated too
1:42 – 1:50 Mute Swan
1:51 – 1:56 African Penguin
1:57 – 2:07 African Penguin
2:08 – 2:18 Mallards
2:19 – 2:23 Graylag goose [OP: close-up and it looks almost like a muppet to me. Is this one real?]
2:23 – 2:25
2:26 – 2:27 Rock Pigeons
2:28 – 2:29
2:30 – 2:33 More pigeons
2:34 – 2:36 House sparrows
2:37 – 2:39 African Penguins
2:40 – 2:44 Brown Pelican?
2:45 – 2:49
2:50 – 2:54
2:55 – 2:57 Black headed gulls
2:58 – 2:58
2:59 – 3:03
3:04 – 3:08
3:09 – 3:13

I know almost nothing about birds, even though I love watching them and listening to them. I hope that some people here can help me identify the birds in this video. I’m guessing that most of the birds are pretty common. I am fascinated to know which are the rarest, or if we can say anything for certain about where some of this footage was taken, etc.
Finally, if anybody has a lot of high-quality bird footage that is informed by a deep love for and knowledge of birds, and you would like a song to go along with it, please let me know. I have written so many songs that make me think of birds (or songs “for the birds,” as my late grandpa would say, lol), and I love making videos.

submitted by WildlyIncoherent to whatsthisbird [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 05:47 Ok_Crab6186 Quantum fiber promised follow up after 6 hours of technician being there, but never came back to my house, charged me

About two weeks ago I moved into half of a duplex. I tried to get regular Centurylink because I had it in my previous apartment, but apparently it doesn't work at my current address or something. Centurylink and Xfinity both wouldn't accept my new address the way I was instructed to give it by my landlord. Finally I figured out that it would have to be Quantum Fiber. It took forever to get the Quantum Fiber website to accept my address but they eventually did, and I waited several days for a technician to come out. He came within the last hour of the window they gave me, and then stayed at my house for SIX HOURS, before telling me that it wasn't possible to hook up the internet because I was in a duplex or something and they would have to do something called a "facilities investigation". I got my landlord on the phone because I didn't know what to do, and the landlord told him that the address works for the city light company and it is a valid address etc. He kept saying that there was only one port or plugin or something for the whole house and that they would have to come back out and fix stuff further away from my house. I got visibly upset (because I am in online school, work full time, and am studying for the MCAT) and he reassured me by personally promising me that he would create a massive paper trail about the issue at hand since he understood it, and he would expedite me for another appointment. He personally promised me that it would get taken care of. When I asked for a phone number, a business card, a case number, a manager's name or phone number, or any number of other things, he refused. I backed down because I am a young woman in my early twenties and I was alone in a brand new area and this is my first time dealing with this type of stuff. I should have stood my ground. Despite the fact that he promised me that I would get communication from him or his supervisor by the end of the day, I got nothing for several hours. Around 4 hours after he left, I got a bunch of messages saying "welcome to Quantum Fiber" and confirmations that my installation was complete.
It was not complete. This man did an absolute hackjob in my wall and I am a renter. This massive thing is now screwed into my wall covering two outlets and another wall port thing, and I can't take it out. He put 9 gigantic thick staples in my wall and then left the equipment there, boxes and all, no wifi, nothing.
I called again a few days later and got the robot. I asked to speak to a manager and got refused multiple times. Then I finally got to this guy who had no idea about the situation even when I gave him my address, so I had to re-explain everything. Then, he got really rude with me and told me that some kind of facilities person would have to come out, but that it would be soon, and refused to give me even a ballpark estimate of when it might be. I asked if I could have his extension and he said no. I asked if I could have the extension to the facilities department or whatever it was called and then he kept interrupting me and telling me that "they aren't customer facing". He was extremely condescending and it was almost like he was laughing at me. I asked if I could schedule the appointment for the next technician from the facilities department and he said no, they would reach out to me.
It's been two weeks. Also, they charged me $50.
Also, I can't cancel my old service from the place I just moved out of over the internet. I'm getting error messages I can't get out of. I have to call on Monday (it's Friday evening) and my bill is due next week, so I'm probably going to get charged for an extra month at my old place.
I ordered Xfinity self-install because they told me I was eligible over the chat. Now, I can't self-install it because the coax cable coming out of my wall is male and they sent me a male-to-male coax cable. And I guess Century Link is attached to my house now. Xfinity just did the same thing where after I FINALLY got a human on the phone, they found a reason to hang up, promised they'd call me back, and then never did. They are also already charging me.
I can't stop crying. I know they are playing me like a fiddle. I am young and inexperienced with this stuff and I am out $120+ to both of these companies and they will not help me. I need internet. I'm in school online. My MCAT is in a few months and I need to take practice tests. I work 12 hour shifts in healthcare. I can't spend more time calling these robots. I am at my wits end. PLEASE HELP

submitted by Ok_Crab6186 to centurylink [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 05:45 toxicleopard My (21f) mom (57f) died unexpectedly two weeks ago, and now my dad’s (61m) home has been destroyed in a tornado

My mom died, and then a day ago my dad’s home was destroyed by a tornado
Hi, my name is Cassy. I am 21 and just over a week ago I lost my beautiful mother due to a kidney infection that turned into a liver infection that turned into sepsis.
Last night my dad’s tiny house was destroyed by the tornado in Madison county, Arkansas, pushed off its foundation and the roof was punctured several times and right now with the 1880 dollars in fees for cremating my mother we are not doing very well. My dad and his girlfriend are effectively homeless, and my brother can barely pay his bills. I am on leave from work due to losing my mother.
I am also an artist and I will do paint or sketch commissions of portraits, pets, cars, plants or even tattoo drawings. Just name your price. If you’d like to help I can let you know my payment info, I have a cashapp. Thank you so so much.
https://gofund.me/e90f3758

submitted by toxicleopard to Charity [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 05:44 idioticbrilliance How has your experience been with your own VPS for small? Considering after both vercel and heroku don't seem to be ideal, or is it my code?

TL;DR Vercel is awesome but cold starts have me skeptical for longterm. Heroku seems a great alternative (and cheaper), but if you can't keep it under 512RAM (in my case), you only solved one problem and created another. Should I just go VPS? concerned code below.
I utilized the Google Ads Api and created a Google Shopping App that incorporates all of Google's RMF: Required Minimum Functionality For a Standard Shopping tool. The plan was to just create an app that follows a marketing strategy (just to create structured campaigns) I've been using for while and make it available to other people in ecommerce. By time I was finished and ready to submit, I realized there was a lot more I had to add in order to get approved. Makes sense though because they don't want you to just offer creation functionality, but not editing or removal.
The app itself is roughly 17k lines. 219 files.
Database: MongoDb to store encrypted tokens.
Billing: Stripe
Main resource: Google Ads Api & Google Content for Shopping Api
Authentication: next-auth (Google provider)
Tried Vercel Hobby to start:
I was getting function execution timeouts right out the bat. No chance this would work it seemed. Upgraded to pro...
Vercel Pro $20 p/m:
This works and with some configuration, I was able to have the app fully functional. Most times, it is so fast and I love it, but the cold starts are unpredictable and aren't ideal for many reasons. Still, I submitted the app to google to have my requested access granted and app approved for production and all went well! Given I was able to get the app approved with Vercel, I want to make it work. I tried experimental:

//next.config.js experimental: { bundlePagesExternals: true, },

Set my memory to 3009mb and extended my maxDuration to 30 secs in vercel.json. Implemented lazy loading for some of the larger components that are required by RMF but not likely the reason you would use the app.
Still, it seemed this would be the norm... Are things suppose to improve once you get regular traffic? Is it unique to each user or the app itself? I haven't canceled my account yet, but I did remove my domain because I figured I should give Heroku a shot.
Heroku $7 per month - Basic
I saw a post talking about Heroku as an alternative to Vercel, and I already use Heroku (node.js/Express backend) + Firebase (React frontend) for another project. Never had an issue, but I was skeptical about a Next.js app due to the monolithic structure and some of the complex processes this app performs.
The biggest shortcoming for me is the hard 512mb RAM limit. I don't have anymore cold starts, but when I initially started the app up I was hitting memory exceeded (R14) in my logs. On the very first start I also experienced an execution timeout (sigh...). I have been trying to reproduce this error since to see if it will be a common occurrence but, so far It hasn't shown itself again...
Aside from that, It's great, but not without it's own shortcomings (in my case RAM). Even upgrading to Standard would still leave me with the same amount. At that point, It becomes questionable if it's a better solution than Vercel. If I want 1GB of RAM from heroku, I'm looking at $50 minimum p/m?
Context to possible issue:
I believe the issue lies in how I authenticate users and immediately send the first Get request after successful authentication.
NextAuth Callback:
Check if user has account already

let googleUser; try { //check if we have a user under the google email for ads account googleUser = await GoogleAdsAuth.findOne({ email: user?.email }); } catch (err) { console.log( "There was an error with the code - Check GoogleAdsAuth Model also.", err ); } //add existing account id to token - regardless of access & refresh tokens if (googleUser) { token._id = googleUser._id; token.theme = googleUser.theme; token.planExpiryDate = googleUser.planExpiryDate; token.planType = googleUser.planType; token.cleanUpService = googleUser.cleanUpService; token.accountActive = googleUser.accountActive; if (googleUser.googleAccountId && googleUser.googleAccountId !== "") { token.googleAccountId = decryptData(googleUser.googleAccountId); } else { token.googleAccountId = googleUser.googleAccountId; } }

Check if Google sent an access and/or refresh token:

//check if we have an access token after login with google if (account?.access_token && account?.provider === "google") { //encrypt access token let encryptedAccessToken = encryptData(account?.access_token); //Check if refresh token is available let encryptedRefreshToken = account?.refresh_token ? encryptData(account?.refresh_token) : undefined; //check if user exists, if they do, update the properties for access and refresh tokens if (googleUser) { let googleData: { [key: string]: string } = {}; //update access token with new encrypted access token googleData.access_token = encryptedAccessToken; //if a refresh token is in the response update this too if (account?.refresh_token) { googleData.refresh_token = encryptData(account?.refresh_token); } try { await GoogleAdsAuth.findByIdAndUpdate(googleUser?._id, googleData); token.theme = googleUser?.theme; } catch (err) { console.log("Error updating Tokens for user", err); } }

If they don't exist create a new account for them.

else if (account?.refresh_token && !googleUser) { //create a new user for that user const startDate = new Date(); const freeTrial = 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000; const endDate = new Date(startDate.getTime() + freeTrial); const googleAuthUser = { startPlan: startDate, planExpiryDate: endDate, accountActive: true, planType: "free", email: user?.email, name: user?.name, access_token: encryptedAccessToken, refresh_token: encryptedRefreshToken, cleanUpService: true, createdCampaigns: 0, campaignQuota: 1, totalCreatedCampaigns: 0, stripeCustomerId: "", theme: "light", googleAccountId: "", selectedClientId: "", } as GoogleAuth; const newGoogleAuth = new GoogleAdsAuth(googleAuthUser); try { await newGoogleAuth.save(); //set token id to new user id token._id = newGoogleAuth._id; token.theme = newGoogleAuth.theme; token.googleAccountId = newGoogleAuth.googleAccountId; } catch (err) { console.log("Error adding GoogleAuth Details to DB", err); }

then...
after this I send them to the app dashboard where a GET request is made immediately after to retrieve all the Shopping performance data. I've cleared my cache, revoked app permisions and deleted my user in the on Mongodb to start the process over again, to see If I can repeat the error, but can't atm.
Anyway, If you read this all, thank you. Am I wrong to immediately send additional requests to Google immediately after authentication? Median Latency for Google Api calls are 625ms and 95% latency is 1200ms.
In case your interested, here is the request I make after successful authentication - /api/...

export default async function (req: NextApiRequest, res: NextApiResponse) { const { id, segment } = req.query; // mongoDb Id an date segment (i.e. 'LAST_7_DAYS') await dbConnect(); let googleUser = await findGoogleAuthById(id as string, res); const decryptedRefreshToken = decryptData(googleUser.refresh_token); const decryptedAccountId = decryptData(googleUser.googleAccountId); const client = getClient(); const customer = client.Customer({ customer_id: decryptedAccountId, //google.googleAccountId could go here refresh_token: decryptedRefreshToken, }); //Query using GAQL const query = getAppAnalyticsQuery(segment as string); let result; try { result = await customer.query(query); res.status(200).json({ analytics: result }); } catch (err) { console.log(err); if (err instanceof errors.GoogleAdsFailure) { googleError(err); //log the Google errors } return res.status(500).json({message: 'unable to retrieve shopping performance data' }); } }

Sorry If I didn't explain this well. Between weighing up the options to take a 3rd shot at another hosting service or question whether I can better optimize my code to work within Heroku's RAM limits. I definitely would appreciate some feedback or advice. My gut is telling me to go VPS, but I wonder If i may be ignoring a bigger issue at hand. I know my next-auth implementation part could be better optimized and the amount of comments might just piss some of you off (bare with me, it was a pain to set up). I am definitely working on improving it now. Just took time to post this hoping to get additional feedback.
In hindsight, I wish I had structured the app to host have the frontend and backend hosted separately. Oh well, I think I can make this work, but want to be considerate my next steps.

submitted by idioticbrilliance to nextjs [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 05:40 toxicleopard My mom died two weeks ago, and then my dad’s home was destroyed in a tornado

My mom died, and then a few days ago my dad’s home was destroyed by a tornado
Hi, my name is Cassy. I am 21 and just over a week ago I lost my beautiful mother due to a kidney infection that turned into a liver infection that turned into sepsis.
Last night my dad’s tiny house was destroyed by the tornado in Madison county, Arkansas, pushed off its foundation and the roof was punctured several times and right now with the 1880 dollars in fees for cremating my mother we are not doing very well. My dad and his girlfriend are effectively homeless, and my brother can barely pay his bills. I am on leave from work due to losing my mother.
I am also an artist and I will do paint or sketch commissions of portraits, pets, cars, plants or even tattoo drawings. Just name your price. If you’d like to help I can let you know my payment info, I have a cashapp. Thank you so so much.
https://gofund.me/e90f3758

submitted by toxicleopard to gofundme [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 05:29 Throwawayredditasker ID/Passport Help? (desperate mom)

Okay. Buckle in, this will likely be long winded but I feel you need all the context. There will be a tldr at the end, so scroll there if you don’t care for the small details.
I am a 26F, living in NYC. My ID expired in 2020 at the start of Covid, and I booked it to Atlanta after a bad breakup to clear my head. I wasn’t able to renew my ID in Atlanta because everything had shut down, so I saved up to come back to NYC. Things were still closed and slow when I got back, got into a new relationship, got pregnant. I know, judge me later. Between doctor’s appointments and most government official buildings being closed, I didn’t get to renew it within the year. When I tried to renew it the following year (per their two year time limit at the dmv), I was told I didn’t have enough points to renew or something similar. I would have used my passport if I had known they had a time limit of 15 years, but I took my first passport picture when I was nine.
It’s now been three years, and surprisingly, when you don’t have your own place where you actively pay bills, it’s incredibly hard to prove your citizenship. Before leaving NYC I had a job, an updated ID, a bank account, and a proof of address. I still don’t have an updated ID. Here’s why:
I have my:
SSN US issued Birth Certificate A credit card/credit statement Proof of address A benefits card (no picture) Old ID (beyond 2 years expired)
I do not have a bank account, I cannot get one without an ID and they closed my previous one. I no longer have a stable proof of address, I moved. I live semi off the grid with my daughter’s father. He works, we aren’t together, and I can’t secure income unless my paperwork is order. I have an address I can use, but my name isn’t on the lease and I have no bills in my name. I’ve been back and forth to the dmv, passport agencies, post offices, online, and even the library. They’ve all sent me on a wild goose chase that led nowhere, not to mention bad attitudes along the way. Am I supposed to just accept NOT having an ID and passport??
It feels like I’ve been going in an endless loop for three years trying to get my proper documentation. I can’t secure a job, I can’t apply for anything without an ID apparently. In a non joking way, I truly understand now how hard it is for some immigrants to enter the country legally. It’s a maze of complicated paperwork and processes, all involving a lot of money people may not have. It was not my intent to let it expire beyond two years, I am seeking advice on the fastest way to get my documents updated legally for the sake of my kid. I even took my own passport photo and filled out the forms but the website says I need an ID at the time of my appointment for them to go forward. I need genuine help, as I’m not sure how to update my ID/passport at this point.
TLDR; I screwed myself over by waiting too long to update my ID, partially due to Covid and pregnancy, and need advice on the fastest way to get it updated since most methods require an updated ID…which I don’t have.

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2024.06.02 05:21 No_Train_5393 Gannet Newspaper fraud

I noticed a 19.99 deduction for a subscription I never signed up for. I called customer service and the representative could find no account in my name. However, I had to five her my information for her to look. She could not explain it but said she would refund the money and assured me no further billing would happen. Low and behold today another deduction for 19.99 Gannet newspaper. This is a fraudulent business. I tried all day to reach a human customer service representative and could only get automated which was not helpful at all. Who is monitoring this deviant bussiness and its illegal practices. How do the victims get protection and assistance in dealing with gannet newspapers? Beyond frustrated.

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2024.06.02 05:19 healthmedicinet Health Daily News MAY 31 2024

DAY: MAY 31 2024
5-31-2024

RESEARCH SUGGESTS LEADERS’ SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ARE TAKEN JUST AS SERIOUSLY AS FORMAL STATEMENTS

Over 180 world leaders maintain social media accounts, and some of them issue policy warnings to rivals and the public on these platforms rather than relying on traditional government statements. How seriously do people take such social media postings? A new study suggests the general public and policymakers alike take leaders’ social media posts just as seriously as they take formal government statements. The research, by MIT political scientists, deploys novel surveys of both the public and experienced foreign policy specialists. “What we find, which is really surprising, across both
5-31-2024

SCALE OF ONLINE HARM TO CHILDREN REVEALED IN GLOBAL STUDY

More than 300 million children a year are victims of online sexual exploitation and abuse, research indicates. Pupils in every classroom, in every school, in every country are victims of this hidden pandemic, according to researchers who have conducted the first global estimate of the scale of the crisis. The statistics, from the Childlight Global Child Safety Institute at the University of Edinburgh, amount to a clear and present danger to the world’s children, according to the crime agency Interpol. Online risks One in eight of the world’s children, about
5-31-2024

PRONATALISM IS THE LATEST SILICON VALLEY TREND. WHAT IS IT—AND WHY IS IT DISTURBING?

For Malcolm and Simone Collins, declining birth rates across many developed countries are an existential threat. The solution is to have “tons of kids,” and to use a hyperrational, data-driven approach to guide everything from genetic selection to baby names and day-to-day parenting. They don’t heat their Pennsylvania home in winter, because heating is a “pointless indulgence.” Their children wear iPads around their necks. And a Guardian journalist witnessed Malcolm strike their two-year-old across the face for misbehavior, a parenting style they apparently developed based on watching “tigers
5-31-2024

HOW SCIENCE, MATH, AND TECH CAN PROPEL SWIMMERS TO NEW HEIGHTS

One hundred years ago, in the 1924 Paris Olympics, American Johnny Weissmuller won the men’s 100m freestyle with a time of 59 seconds. Nearly 100 years later, in the most recent Olympics, the delayed 2020 Games in Tokyo, Caeleb Dressel took home the same event with a time that was 12 seconds faster than Weissmuller’s. Swimming times across the board have become much faster over the past century, a result of several factors, including innovations
5-31-2024

BANNING SEX CRIME OFFENDERS FROM CHANGING THEIR NAMES DOESN’T MAKE US SAFER

The government of British Columbia recently introduced a bill to ban people convicted of serious offenses from legally changing their name. The proposed amendment to the province’s Name Act would also prohibit those found not criminally responsible due to mental disorder from changing their name. The government announced the move after media reports that Allan Schoenborn legally changed his name to Ken Johnson. Schoenborn was found not criminally responsible for the deaths of his children in 2010 because of a delusional disorder, and was placed at a psychiatric hospital.
5-31-2024

SILICON VALLEY ISN’T THE START-UP UTOPIA WE THOUGHT, RESEARCH FINDS

Silicon Valley—considered the world’s hub of technology and innovation—can breed inequality and sameness among budding entrepreneurs, according to new research. Behind the multi-million-dollar deals and tales of start-up utopia, Silicon Valley’s “uneven” investment landscape is in fact a barrier to many budding businesses, says the study from the University of Stirling and Georg-August-University Göttingen. But the researchers suggest other countries could still learn from the more discerning entrepreneurial ecosystem that bred giants such as Apple and Google, to be more selective in backing start-ups. While it is not uncommon for
5-31-2024

I WANT TO KEEP MY CHILD SAFE FROM ABUSE—BUT RESEARCH TELLS ME I’M DOING IT WRONG

Child sexual abuse is uncomfortable to think about, much less talk about. The idea of an adult engaging in sexual behaviors with a child feels sickening. It’s easiest to believe that it rarely happens, and when it does, that it’s only to children whose parents aren’t protecting them. This belief stayed with me during my early days as a parent. I kept an eye out for creepy men at the playground and was skeptical of men who worked with young children, such as teachers and coaches. When my kids were
5-31-2024

OVER 300 MILLION YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED ONLINE SEXUAL ABUSE, EXPLOITATION, FINDS METASTUDY

It takes a lot to shock Kelvin Lay. My friend and colleague was responsible for setting up Africa’s first dedicated child exploitation and human trafficking units, and for many years he was a senior investigating officer for the Child Exploitation Online Protection Center at the UK’s National Crime Agency, specializing in extra territorial prosecutions on child exploitation across the globe. But what happened when he recently volunteered for a demonstration of cutting-edge identification software left him speechless. Within seconds of being fed with an image
5-31-2024

CYBERFLASHING IS A FORM OF GENDERED SEXUAL VIOLENCE THAT MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

Sexting—sending sexually suggestive or explicit messages and images—is now a widespread practice, and can be a healthy way to express and explore sexuality. However, there is a need to distinguish between consensual sexting and forms of sexual harassment like cyberflashing. Cyberflashing refers to the act of non-consensually sending sexual imagery (like nudes or “dick pics”) to another person. It is facilitated through communications technologies including text, AirDrop and social media applications like Snapchat and Tinder. Similar to flashing—when a person unexpectedly and deliberately “flashes” their genitals to others—that occurs in
5-31-2024

VIRTUAL TRAINING MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE, COST-EFFICIENT OPTION FOR CHILD EDUCATORS

Teachers and other child educators can benefit from regular professional development, but in-person training can be expensive. New research found that virtual training can be a budget-friendly alternative—and especially effective for certain groups of educators. The study—a collaboration between researchers at Penn State and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and published in the International Journal of Professional Development, Learners and Learning—found that educators who took a virtual training reported feeling more confident in their abilities to implement practices shown to support positive youth development. In particular, after-school providers who did not
5-31-2024

HUMBLE LEADERS BOOST EMPLOYEES’ WORKPLACE STATUS AND LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL, FINDS STUDY

There are many different types of workplace leaders, from those who prioritize the needs of team members and the organization above their own, to authentic leaders who foster openness, trust and transparency. A recent study by the University of South Australia published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior has highlighted the significant benefits of humble leadership in the workplace. According to the study by UniSA’s Dr. Xiao Lin, humble leadership can effectively elevate the workplace status of employees by boosting their sense of respect and prominence. It also leads to
5-31-2024

WHY ARE GROCERY BILLS SO HIGH? A NEW STUDY LOOKS AT THE SCIENCE BEHIND FOOD PRICE REPORTING

Rising food costs are squeezing Canadians around the country. Nearly everyone is feeling the pinch, and it’s not just an inconvenience—high food prices are a major threat to food security for many Canadians. Understanding why food prices are so high and why they are changing is critical to the well-being of our society. Unfortunately, consensus on why food price are so high is in short supply. Explanations given in reports like Canada’s Food Price Report and the news media range widely, from the war in Ukraine to supply chain issues
5-31-2024

WILL GENERATIVE AI CHANGE THE WAY UNIVERSITIES COMMUNICATE?

Is artificial intelligence an unprecedented opportunity, or will it rob everyone of jobs and creativity? As we debate on social media (and perhaps use ChatGPT almost daily), generative AIs have also entered the arena of university communication. These tools—based on large language models that were optimized for interactive communication—can indeed support, expand, and innovate university communication offerings. Justus Henke has analyzed the situation of German realities about six months after the launch of ChatGPT 3. “The research was conducted about a year ago when enthusiasm was high, but it was
5-31-2024

STUDY SHOWS RELATIVELY LOW NUMBER OF SUPERSPREADERS RESPONSIBLE FOR LARGE PORTION OF MISINFORMATION ON TWITTER

Classification of superspreader accounts. A large portion (55.1%) of accounts are no longer active. For each class annotated with political affiliations, colors indicate the ideological split. The last group aggregates all accounts with political affiliations. Credit: PLOS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302201 A small team of social media analysts at Indiana University has found that a major portion of tweets spreading disinformation are sent by a surprisingly small percentage of a given userbase. In their study, published in PLOS ONE, the group conducted a review of 2,397,388 tweets posted on Twitter
5-31-2024

HOW LIFE’S BIG MOMENTS CAN CHALLENGE STARTUPS

Life-changing events like the birth of a child, the purchase of a new home, or a lottery win could threaten the survival of a new business venture, the positive family events had a comparatively greater influence, albeit negatively, on the survival of a new venture, compared with
5-31-2024

RUDE AT WORK? FEELING GUILTY CAN MAKE YOU A BETTER, KINDER WORKER

We’ve all done it. A bad night’s sleep or a tough commute made us cranky, and we lashed out at a coworker who did nothing wrong. What can we do to make up for it? According to a new study published in the Journal of Business Ethics, embracing our guilty feelings can help us make up for our bad behavior by encouraging us to act more politely and work harder the next day. “We found that anyone can be rude at work, because anyone can
5-31-2024

RESEARCHERS INTRODUCE A PLANETARY INCLUSION SCALE TO FOSTER BROADER ETHICAL THINKING

Social inclusion and having a sense of belonging with other people are key elements of a good life. However, the fate of humanity is a challenge that extends beyond our social reality. Experiences of belonging and inclusion, understood in a broader sense than before, may be crucial for a sustainable future. In an article published in the International Journal of Social Pedagogy, a team of researchers propose a new planetary inclusion scale that structures our planetary relationship three-dimensionally based on temporal, spatial and ethical orientation. The temporal element relates to
5-31-2024

‘LEAN IN’ MESSAGES CAN LOWER WOMEN’S MOTIVATION TO PROTEST GENDER INEQUALITY

Women in leadership are often told to “Lean In,” designed to be motivational messaging demonstrating that they are more confident, strategic and resilient to setback. However, new research indicates that such “lean in” messaging can hinder women’s motivation to protest gender equality. Popularized in a book by American technology executive Sherly Sandberg, the “Lean In” solution to gender inequality advises women that demonstrating personal resilience and perseverance in the face of setbacks is key to career advancement. Now, a new study led by the University of Exeter, Bath Spa University
5-31-2024

ALGORITHMS COULD HELP IMPROVE JUDICIAL DECISIONS

A new paper in the Quarterly Journal of Economics finds that replacing certain judicial decision-making functions with algorithms could improve outcomes for defendants by eliminating some of the systemic biases of judges. Decision makers make consequential choices based on predictions of unknown outcomes. Judges, in particular, make decisions about whether to grant bail to defendants or how to sentence those convicted. Companies now use machine learning based models increasingly in high-stakes decisions. There are various assumptions about human behavior underlying the deployment of such learning models that play out in
5-31-2024

DIGITAL CAMPAIGNING IS A HUGE PART OF ELECTIONS NOW—BUT GOING VIRAL ISN’T EVERYTHING

The election has commenced and the race is on—to amass as many likes, shares and comments as possible. Digital campaigning, particularly through social media, is now a key part of political candidates’ communication toolkit. In fact, every general election campaign since 1997 has at some point been lauded as the first to make effective use of digital campaigning. But it was in 2015 that David Cameron’s campaign first made strategic use of social media to drive an election victory. As political reporter Tim Ross outlines in his excellent book, Why
5-31-2024

WHY ARE ORGANIZATIONAL COVER-UPS SO COMMON?

The TV dramatization of the UK Horizon Post Office scandal evoked outrage and disbelief. However, as another example of dysfunctional organizational behavior, it was expected rather than exceptional. The Post Office saga joins a long list of cover-ups or scandals that includes Hillsborough, Enron, Grenfell, the infected blood scandal, the Tuam babies scandal in the Republic of Ireland, Boeing 737 Max and Nasa (Columbia space shuttle). They represent what happens when there is a move within organizations and institutions to cover up the causes of
5-31-2024

AMONG GEN Z AUSTRALIANS, 38% IDENTIFY AS SPIRITUAL AND HALF BELIEVE IN KARMA. WHY IS SPIRITUALITY SO POPULAR?

Spirituality is increasingly popular with young Australians: recent research shows 38% of Gen Z Australians identify as spiritual. It also reports 50% of them believe in karma, 29% in reincarnation and 20% in astrology. When it comes to activities equated with spirituality, 28% of Gen Z Australians practice meditation and 22% practice yoga. In Australia, spirituality is strongly, enduringly central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and culturally and religiously diverse communities. Yet until recently, spirituality has received far less attention than religion. Spirituality may be
5-31-2024

COMPANIES CAN IMPROVE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THEIR PRODUCTS IN THE EARLIEST PRODUCT-DESIGN STAGES

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Lithuanian and Italian universities propose a tool that allows companies to assess the circularity of their future products. The self-assessment tool emphasizes the co-creation of circular design in the early (creative) stages of product development, encouraging entrepreneurs and designers to think more systematically and collaborate better by integrating related stakeholders into the product development process. The study is published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology. “The majority of existing practical tools (systems of indicators) are aimed at measuring the environmental impact of products already
5-31-2024

RESEARCH EXAMINES HOW RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION AFFECTS A STATE’S COLLEGE ENROLLMENT

New research has revealed up to a 9% increase in college first-year enrollments in US states that have legalized recreational marijuana compared with states without such legalization. The study, which is published in Economic Inquiry, found that the increase was from out-of-state enrollments, with early adopter states and public non-research institutions experiencing the most pronounced increases. Recreational marijuana legalization did not negatively impact degree completion or graduation rate, and it did not affect college prices, quality, or in?state enrollment. The findings suggest that some students perceive recreational marijuana legalization as
5-31-2024

RESEARCH EXAMINES HOW RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION AFFECTS A STATE’S COLLEGE ENROLLMENT

HOW THE ‘MODEL MINORITY’ MYTH HARMS ASIAN AMERICANS

May is Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month, a time when Americans celebrate the profound contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders—a group that is commonly abbreviated as AAPI—to U.S. society. It’s also a time to acknowledge the complexity of AAPI experience. And as a professor who studies equity and inclusion in business, I think the focus on AAPI communities this month provides an excellent occasion to push back against a stereotype that has long misrepresented and marginalized a diverse range of people: the myth of the “model minority.” The
5-31-2024

WONDERING HOW TO TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT CONSENT? HERE’S AN AGE-BASED GUIDE TO GET YOU STARTED

The Australian government’s new campaign Consent Can’t Wait challenges us all to improve our understanding of consent. It asks a series of questions to illustrate this issue is more complex than simplistic “no means no” messaging. The campaign invites viewers to consider the nuances of consent, so we can raise these important issues with children and young people in our lives. But what is a good age to start talking about consent? How do parents tackle such conversations when this information probably wasn’t readily discussed in our own upbringing? How
5-31-2024

A PRODUCT OF NATURE OR NURTURE?

The concept of cultural entrepreneurship has many facets. It encompasses both the cultural and social impact of entrepreneurial training, and the environmental factors that influence its development. Some societies, such as the U.S., have a strong entrepreneurial culture. This means that certain characteristics are celebrated and encouraged, such as the ability of individuals to assume risks, patience when confronting challenges, and innovative problem solving, especially in uncertain situations. However, not all countries have such an entrepreneurial culture. Entrepreneurship struggles to take off in Europe In general, entrepreneurship can drive economic
5-31-2024

STUDY BRIDGES ANIMAL BEHAVIOR RESEARCH AND COMPUTER CODING TO ENGAGE CHILDREN IN STEM

A graphic depicting a student coding. Credit: Carnegie Mellon University Teachers today face a bit of a conundrum, according to a new study from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Their goal is to prepare young students to enter a rapidly changing world. Even basic jobs require technical proficiency, which requires computational and analytical skills. To address this need, many educators are pushing to fold these important STEM skills into elementary curriculum. Here’s the problem. Young students can lose interest and even develop an aversion
5-31-2024

STUDY SHOWS VR CAN HELP TEACHERS BETTER DISTRIBUTE THEIR GAZE

On the left, a bird’s-eye view of the virtual classroom; on the right, screenshots of each of the four gaze-visualization conditions. Teachers need to know their material, but they must also keep their students engaged and interested. Part of that involves making eye contact with their students—all of them. A multidisciplinary team of researchers tested several methods of data visualization in an immersive virtual reality (VR) classroom, to give teachers a way to gauge
5-31-2024

MARKETERS CAN MANAGE ‘FEATURE CREEP’ SO CONSUMERS FEEL LESS INTIMIDATED BY TOO MANY FEATURES IN A PRODUCT

Wifi-enabled washing machines. Voice-controlled microwaves. App-enabled TVs, vacuum cleaners, and even window blinds you can control from the comfort of your couch. Many of the technological features now included in everyday products are useful and accessible. But research has shown that having too many can overwhelm potential buyers, making them less likely to make a purchase. In recent research, Wayne Hoyer, marketing professor and James L. Bayless/William S. Farrish Fund Chair for Free Enterprise at Texas McCombs, digs into the phenomenon of “feature creep” and its impact on consumer sentiment.
5-31-2024

RESEARCHERS EXPLAIN SOCIAL MEDIA’S ROLE IN RAPIDLY SHIFTING SOCIAL NORMS ON GENDER AND SEXUALITY

A new paper summarizing decades of research demonstrates how social media has supported an explosion of diversity in gender and sexuality in America during the 21st century, and also how these technologies have equally enabled a cultural backlash. The paper’s authors, UC Santa Cruz Psychology Department faculty members Phil Hammack and Adriana Manago, identified five main narratives about gender and sexuality that they believe emerged through social media as people have strived to be “authentic” on these platforms. The findings, along with resulting recommendations for psychology researchers and practitioners, were
5-31-2024

KEY FACTORS IN TRAINING ASSESSORS FOR ENHANCED PERFORMANCE RATINGS

New research is examining how organizations can improve their training programs by customizing frame-of-reference training to emphasize identifying negative behaviors critical to their goals. While assessors naturally identify positive behaviors, C. Allen Gorman, Ph.D., associate professor in UAB’s Department of Management, Information Systems and Quantitative Methods, says targeted training helps them recognize harmful actions that can hinder organizational objectives. Involving assessors in defining important performance dimensions and examples of behaviors, both good and
5-31-2024

STUDIES CHALLENGE WIDELY HELD BELIEFS ON APPLICANT DIVERSITY AND WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

Justin Frake is interested in cause-and-effect relationships in real-world data and the hidden dynamics that shape workplace behavior and equality—or inequality, as the case might be. His curiosity has led to research that challenges some popular beliefs as well as published studies related to women in the workforce. One study shows that firms promoting flatter hierarchies inadvertently discourage female applicants and another study counters several recent studies that claim women CEOs negatively impact career outcomes of other women. Both are published in the Strategic Management Journal. The assistant professor of
5-31-2024

CHALLENGING LEWIN’S MOTIVATIONAL CONFLICTS THEORY

A recent series of experiments challenges the longstanding theory of motivational conflict resolution introduced by Kurt Lewin. According to Lewin, conflicts between two undesirable outcomes (avoidance–avoidance conflicts) are typically harder to resolve than those between two desirable ones (approach–approach conflicts). Lewin posited that avoidance–avoidance conflicts, where individuals must choose between two undesirable outcomes, are typically more challenging to resolve compared to approach–approach conflicts, which involve choosing between two desirable options.
5-31-2024

MEN WITH ‘TOXIC MASCULINITY’ ARE MORE LIKELY TO MAKE SEXUAL ADVANCES WITHOUT CONSENT, STUDY FINDS

No means no when it comes to sex. But what happens when a woman makes a more passive response to a sexual advance? According to new research from Binghamton University, men differ in how they interpret these types of responses, and men who display hostile masculinity, known commonly as “toxic masculinity,” tend to act on them regardless of whether or not they think it’s consensual. A team of researchers, including Binghamton psychology professor Richard Mattson and graduate student Michael Shaw asked men between the ages of 18–25 to respond to
5-31-2024

WHY WE DEHUMANIZE OUR POLITICAL OPPONENTS

Some of human history’s greatest atrocities—genocide, slavery, ethnic cleanings—are rooted in our ability to dehumanize people from other social, political, or cultural groups. Whereas prior research has traced dehumanization to the belief that others think or feel less than we do, new research co-authored by Haas professor Sameer Srivastava shows that our tendency to dehumanize can also be influenced by how we think others view important facets of the world. The greater the difference between our perceptions of an outgroup’s worldview
5-31-2024

STUDY SUGGESTS CHILDREN ARE OFTEN EXPOSED TO PROBLEMATIC CLICK BAIT DURING YOUTUBE SEARCHES

When a child peruses YouTube, the content recommended to them is not always age appropriate, a new study suggests. Researchers mimicked search behaviors of children using popular search terms, such as memes, Minecraft and Fortnite, and captured video thumbnails recommended at the end of each video. Among the 2,880 thumbnails analyzed, many contained problematic click bait, such as violence or frightening images, according to the Michigan Medicine led research in JAMA Network Open. “Children spend a significant amount of time on free video sharing platforms that include user-generated content,” said
5-31-2024

STUDY FINDS WOMEN ARE VULNERABLE IN POST-WAR PEACE PROCESSES

Post-war peace processes are a dangerous period for women. Many are forced to live close to men who committed serious abuse during the war or are expected to testify in various types of truth commissions, which can be both retraumatizing and stigmatizing. These are the findings of a new study by peace researchers at Uppsala University, published in the journal PLOS ONE. “In short, peace projects can force women to live side by side with ex-combatants who committed atrocities during the war. This puts them at risk of further threat
5-31-2024

HOW EMBRACING THE CRINGE CAN HELP YOUR DATING LIFE

We can all agree that dating is hard. Getting to know people can feel vulnerable, but at the same time, exciting. We can also agree that feeling rejected can be one of the worst feelings, especially after we put ourselves out there. Dating can also expose us to a lot of cringey things, maybe even something we didn’t know we’d consider cringey. Think of cringe like something that makes you uncomfortable, or something about someone else that you don’t find attractive. Before dating, most of us consider what we’re looking
5-31-2024

PERSONAL CONNECTIONS AT WORK POSITIVELY IMPACT RETENTION AND MENTAL HEALTH, SAYS REPORT

New survey results from Wiley suggest people still feel connected at work despite the prevalence of hybrid and remote work environments and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). According to the latest Wiley Workplace Intelligence report, “Human Connection: The Crucial Secret to Thriving in the Digital Age,” nearly 8 in 10 employees surveyed (78%) said they feel connected with their coworkers, and almost 7 in 10 (69%) said they also enjoy making connections with their colleagues. Around half even said they want to learn more about their coworkers by doing
5-31-2024

RESEARCHER DEVELOPS MODEL OF INFLUENCER IMPORTANCE WITHIN INSTAGRAM NETWORKS

A study has provided new insights into social media influencers, particularly focusing on those in the women’s fashion sector on the well-known image and video sharing platform Instagram. In a departure from the approach taken by earlier studies, Jens K. Perret of the International School of Management in Cologne, Germany, has used network statistics and centrality measures to establish a model of influencer importance within their network. Perret analyzed data from 255 influencers covering a four-year period. Influencers are loosely
5-31-2024

MOST PEOPLE TRUST ACCURATE SEARCH RESULTS WHEN THE STAKES ARE HIGH, STUDY FINDS

Rank (X-axis) does not affect the evaluation of trustworthiness (Y-axis, mean-centered) of accurate results. This lack of relationship is robust across experiments (columns) and for clicked results (top row, red) as well as non-clicked results (bottom row, blue). The trend lines represent the predicted change in trustworthiness ratings per unit decrease in rank fitted by the linear regression models. Credit: Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61645-8 Using experiments with COVID-19 related queries, Cornell sociology and information science researchers found that in a public health emergency, most people pick out and click
5-31-2024

MISLEADING COVID-19 HEADLINES FROM MAINSTREAM SOURCES DID MORE HARM ON FACEBOOK THAN FAKE NEWS, STUDY FINDS

Despite the greater potency of “fake news” on Facebook to discourage Americans from taking the COVID-19 vaccine, users’ greater exposure to unflagged, vaccine-skeptical content meant the latter had a much greater negative effect on vaccine uptake. Credit: Jennifer Allen, Duncan Watts, David G. Rand Since the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, fake news on social media has been widely blamed for low vaccine uptake in the United States—but research by MIT Sloan School of Management Ph.D. candidate Jennifer Allen and Professor David Rand finds that the blame lies
5-31-2024

CRITICAL DIALOGUE HELPS STRAIGHT MEN CONFRONT SEXIST, HOMOPHOBIC BELIEFS

Adult heterosexual men with sexist and homophobic views can potentially improve their attitudes toward gay men and women by engaging in critical dialogues that use illustrations as a springboard, according to a new University of Michigan study. The work is published in the journal Sexual and Gender Diversity in Social Services. The process by which people shift from a prejudicial stance to one of relative acceptance is a key innovation of the study. Guided by trained facilitators, critical dialogues reflect illustrations depicting different gender roles and sexual identities. The images
5-31-2024

RELIEVING A FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

If you dread public speaking you are not alone. It is a leading social phobia, one that can cause a state of anxiety that reduces otherwise articulate people to nervous incoherence. A strong fear of public speaking is known as glossophobia. Academic studies estimate it affects 20% of the population, but depending on the sample and methodology, the figure could be as high as 40%. As American writer and humourist Mark Twain said, “There are two types of speakers: Those who get nervous and those who are liars.” But help
5-31-2024

HOW SOME PRIVATE COMPANIES ARE MARKETING TECH AND AI SOLUTIONS

How do universities and colleges decide who to admit? Given the earnings advantage of a post-secondary degree both globally and in Canada, this is an important social mobility question. While the answer varies from one institution to the next, most focus on education criteria like exam scores and grades. However, Canada’s new intake cap on study permit applications puts increased pressure on Canadian institutions to also consider immigration criteria when admitting international undergraduate students. This is just the latest example of immigration’s growing influence on the societal roles of Canadian

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2024.06.02 05:16 No_Train_5393 Gannet Newspaper fraud

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2024.06.02 05:16 SuccessfulAd9667 Food poisoning and hospital bill. Help!

Hi, I would really appreciate your advice. I always wanted to travel to Mexico City because I am studying Spanish and I love the food and the culture. I finally made it happen last weekend but unfortunately I got food poisoning on my first day and had to spend my second day in the emergency room. I had a high fever, diarrhea and I threw up many times. I had to stay in the hospital for 6 hours and got medicine through IV. When I was discharged, I asked for documents cause I need to file a claim with my travel insurance. My Spanish is intermediate, but the hospital had difficult time understanding exactly what documents I needed, and it took them almost 2 hours to give me the result of the bloodwork, itemized bill, and summary of all the medications they administered. And the final bill was $800. I returned to the united states, filed a claim with all the documents but now the insurance company is requesting a “official medical record” even though the itemized bill includes doctors name, my diagnosis and all the treatments and medications administered. I tried to call/message (they gave me their what’s app #) the hospital but they never answer. They were actually not very friendly when I was there and were annoyed that my Spanish is limited…and later I found out they have terrible reviews on Google. Are Mexican hospitals required to provide medical records to patients? Will I be able to get one? 🥲 $800 is a lot of money for me. Any opinions are appreciated. thank you!

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2024.06.02 05:02 Octagonenotforgotten Octagone [1372] First chapter Mystery Thriller

Hi! I am new to writing, so any feedback is needed please!
Scarlett is still full of excitement after her sleepover with her best friend. “Have you ever sung karaoke?” she asks her sister, who has just picked her up to walk her home. Jolene, engrossed in her phone, doesn't even hear the question. “No,” she replies bluntly. “Well, you should. It's amazing!” Scarlett beams. “You know, I always thought I should be famous, but now I know it.”
Jolene can't help but scoff at this notion. “Yeah? What makes you so special?”
“Uh,” Scarlett scrunches her brow in confusion. “Everything...”
Jolene rolls her eyes and continues typing vigorously on her Blackberry. Scarlett sighs, knowing she can't compete with her sister's phone. I'm just going to wait until we’re home, Scarlett thinks, moving her little legs faster to keep up with Jolene’s pace. Mom will want to hear why I should be famous. I’ll probably have an agent by next week, then BOOM, I’m the next international pop star. Scarlett begins to strut down the street with her hands on her hips, periodically waving and blowing kisses to the imaginary photographers that line the street.
“Stop being a weirdo; Mom is expecting us back in 20 minutes.” Jolene always has a way of taking the fun out of, well, everything. Scarlett sticks her tongue out at her sister, adding a fart noise to punctuate her annoyance. Jolene’s phone buzzes once again, gaining her full attention. The girls continue their walk when Scarlett spots “Scoops,” her favorite ice cream shop.
“You know, Jo, we’re not that far away,” Scarlett stops abruptly, making her sister stop in her tracks. “I know for a fact we can get home in 10 minutes from this ice cream shop!” Scarlett casually points to the store next to her, just like she planned. Jolene rolls her eyes and glares at her sister. “You would know that.”
“I just so happen to have a five in my pocket; we have twenty minutes to get home… AND it’s only going to take ten minutes to get home, so….”
“We have ten minutes to get ice cream,” the girls say in unison. Scarlett with excitement, Jolene with disdain. Jolene lets out a big sigh, rolling her eyes. “Fine, I have a phone call I need to make anyway. But I swear to God, Scar, if we are late, you are taking the blame.” She continues to type on her phone as she takes a seat at one of the tables.
“Deal!” Scarlett smiles as she reaches for the handle of the door to the ice cream shop. “Do you want anything?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Scarlett makes her way into the shop, smiling at Sam, her favorite ice cream scooper. Sam is always kind and cheerful, and her scoops are noticeably bigger than Dave's. “Hi Scar!” Sam says with a giggle. “What can I get my best customer today? The usual?”
“Yes, please, and you know what,” she says, raising an eyebrow and flashing her $5 bill, “make it a double scoop!”
“Woah, big spender today. Where did you get that kind of money?” Sam’s eyes widen as she grabs a cone off of a tall stack.
“It was my birthday last week!” Scarlett excitedly bounces on her toes, remembering the celebration. “We had a party with all of my friends, and I got so many presents. I almost didn’t have time to open all of them. And then we had a bounce house. And then we had a dance party, and everyone chanted my name because I should be famous. And then I blew out the candles and made a wish. And then Danny threw up because he had too much cake. And then Mom decided that’s enough fun for the day.”
“Wow! That sounds like a great birthday,” Sam says, generously filling her scoop with mint chocolate chip and placing it on the cone. “How old are you now?”
“Eight,” Scarlett beams, mouth watering as she focuses her attention on the overflowing cone.
Sam nods. “Ah, makes sense. Only big kids get to walk to the ice cream shop by themselves.”
Scarlett furrows her brow in confusion. “No, I don’t. Jolene is just...” Scarlett points out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the front of the shop. She can see the tables and chairs on the sidewalk, she can see a car pass by on the road. She can even see a couple walking on the other side of the street, but she can’t see Jolene. “Uh, my sister was just outside…”
A sinking feeling starts to take over Scarlett’s stomach, her mind racing with the possibilities. Did she go home without me? I’ve only been in here a few minutes… and Mom would be mad she left me. Maybe she is hiding so she can scare me? Wouldn’t be the first time… maybe she saw one of her friends and they…
“Are you ok?” Sam’s voice snaps her out of her thoughts. She turns back to Sam, seeing the reflection of her worry in Sam’s face.
“Um… I don’t know,” Scarlett says cautiously, unsure of what to do.
Sam takes a deep breath and sets the cone down, making her way to the front of the store to look out the door. Scarlett follows closely behind, using Sam as her shield. They both scan the area looking for any signs of Jolene. Sam takes a few steps onto the sidewalk, accidentally kicking a small object. “What’s this?” Sam asks as she bends over to pick it up. Scarlett's stomach turns to knots as she looks at the Blackberry in Sam’s hand. Jolene got that phone for her last birthday, and Scarlett hasn’t seen her without it since. She knows there is no way Jolene would have left without it, at least, not willingly. Scarlett's eyes welled up with tears at the thought.
Sam recognizes her fear and kneels down to be face to face with Scarlett. “Is this her phone?” Sam asks nervously. Scarlett warily nods as the tears begin to stream down her face. Sam’s face falls, understanding what Scarlett is thinking. She gently puts her hand on Scarlett's arm. “Let’s call your mom, ok?,” she says as she leads Scarlett back inside. Sam fiddles with Jolene’s phone, finding the contact “mom”, and lifts the phone up to her ear. As the phone rings Sam can see the fear in Scarlett’s eyes, fear that not even ice cream can fix. “Everything is going to be ok!” Sam says, not knowing how wrong she is. “Hello? Um, is this Scarlett’s mom?”
Sam’s conversation falls into the background as Scarlett holds back tears. She stares out the window where Jolene once stood hoping she will magically return. Maybe if I close my eyes. She squeezes her eyes closed making the built up tears overflow. Please, please, please. She opens her eyes to see the barren sidewalk, slumping back into the chair letting her fear set in and her tears pour out.
Sam hangs up the phone and turns to Scarlett. “Your mom is on her way, and she is calling the police now.” she kneels down to the overwhelmed little girl, having no clue how to make anything better. “Did you still want that ice cream?” Sam asks as she goes to retrieve the melting cone. With no answer she tips the ice cream into a bowl, grabs a spoon, and rushes it back to Scarlett. “On the house” Sam insists pushing it toward Scarlett, feeling helpless and fearing the little girl's smile would never return. With tears running down her face, Scarlett takes a big spoonful of the ice cream, and lifts it up just to plop it back down, slumping into her chair. Trying anything to help, Sam has a new idea. “Why don’t we distract ourselves until she gets here?” Sam asks, receiving a nod. “How about we count the cars going by. I bet she will be here by the time 15 cars go by, oh look, there’s one”
“Two” Scarlett whispers as a silver car goes by. “Three” Sam says, taking a seat on the floor next to the occupied chair.
Four
Five
Six
Seven
“Eight” Scarlett screams recognizing the car that had driven her all around town. “Mom!”

submitted by Octagonenotforgotten to WritersGroup [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 04:50 PolarBearChewChew My wife (47f) was acting strange last year, and after New Year's, and walked out on me (48m) after over 20 years being married. Was she cheating on me?

Let me preface this with the past 5 years summarized.
My wife used to smoke when I met her. She smoked when we were married, and for many years after. Due to health concerns, she decided to quit, and did so sometime around 2013.
We used to go away on holidays together as a family. In 2016 I took our son (13 at the time) on a road trip across a lot of the South and Western US States (CO, TX, UT, AZ, NM) while she went to another city to spend time with her daughter from another relationship. Since then, we did not go on holidays or take vacation together at the same time.
In 2017 I went away with our son, and again in 2018 and 2019. Sometime around 2019 I noticed my wife was smoking again, but I decided not to bother her about it, just let it be. I didn't say anything. She would leave to go to the store to smoke, because who goes to the store 2x every day?
She got into the car cruise nights and she would take her daughter along with her. Our son would ask to go, and she would often say no, she had already promised her daughter. Sometimes she would let him go.
She never wanted me to go with her, and in fact said so with excuses all the time ("you don't like sitting in my car, you don't like being around other people a lot, you should have fun with our son playing games instead" you name it). In the fall of 2022, our son told her that we knew she was smoking, when I wasn't home. So at first the nightly shopping trips ceased, as she began smoking outside on the street.
In 2023, for our anniversary, I got her a present and sent her a nice text. She thanked me by text, and didn't do or say anything in return. For my birthday, she didn't get me a card, or a gift. For father's day, same thing, no card, nothing. I had asked her to go away with me on a trip, and she said no. So I took our son on another trip. We had to come home 4 days early because we got sick, and she was upset we arrived early. She had taken the same period off for her holidays without telling me, and was mad that she was off work when I would also be off work and at home.
For her birthday, she didn't want me to do anything or even take her out, and instead went out by herself on a cruise night. At least she said she was going by herself, I didn't verify.
I should mention that during our whole relationship, I have always shared my phone location with her, but she has never shared hers with me, even though I've asked. She said she doesn't trust location services on the phone and so didn't want to use it. Okay, fine. She never would let me see her phone, and she had a passcode she never wanted me to see. Also, we had ceased having any sex sometime around 2018, and stopped kissing each other shortly after.
In the fall of 2023, she wanted to go to a cruise happening in another city, one state over. I said I'd like to go, and it seemed like she wasn't pleased but also not showing it. I could just have been reading that wrong. We went, and checked in to our hotel for the night, and she sat on the couch beside me on her phone for hours. I tried talking and she didn't want to engage. I tried rubbing her back, and touching her and it was like touching a dead person, with no response. When I finally said that I thought maybe we could make love, she said she was too tired for that.
The next day, I told her I wanted to make love to her, and she said she would have to shower first, and when she came out of the shower, we made love. But it was different than it used to be.
She started going out again to the store more frequently, and then it became just going for a drive, or going for a walk after a drive, or just sitting in her car in some random parking lot for 6 hours listening to music (so she said).
Just before Christmas, she went to the car club dinner, and said I wasn't invited so I couldn't go along.
On New Year's Eve, she told me after supper, at 7pm, that she was going to a party that her friend was hosting, and that she wanted to go alone. I was quite upset over this, but didn't say anything. I just let her go, while I sat at home and cried.
The next week, she asked me to book a hotel room for her for middle of January, as she was taking a week of holidays. I was upset, wondering where this was leading, but I did it for her.
After her first night, I texted her and asked how she slept, and she said she didn't sleep well, was up at midnight because car alarms were going off in the parking lot, and she didn't get back to sleep until after 2:30am.
Our anniversary came, and I got her a gift, and sent her a text. She simply said "thank you for the gift" but nothing else. It seemed off, but not like this wasn't a trend. It was just, becoming more distant and off.
From the hotel stay, through until the end of February, she would be out for at least 4-6 hours every single night and the entire weekends. It was drinking with the girls from work (something she never did before) to coffee with a certain friend (we'll call her Nettie), out for a drive, etc. In the beginning of February, our son needed to go to the hospital, and he had texted her to take him, because I had already taken him 4 times in the prior 2 months. She showed up at home to pick him up, and on the way to the hospital, she was texting someone, with her phone held at an angle so he couldn't see. Several times they almost hit another car or went into the ditch.
Finally he shouted at her "who is so important that you're texting, that you're willing to kill us over?" and she angrily just slammed her phone down and said nothing.
On February 29, in the afternoon, she sent me an email that she was separating from me. I didn't see it until 7pm. She came home from work at around 6, and was really weird. I guess she didn't know I hadn't seen it yet. We decided on supper, and she went out to get the food and bring it home. While she was out, I saw the email.
She never gave me any reason why. Here was her email:

I have been unhappy for such a long time, and nothing seems to help us improve our relationship. I am sorry to say this, but this relationship isn’t bringing out the best in either of us so I’ve decided that I want to separate with the intention of reconciliation.
I feel like I don’t have any space in our house. I mentioned using the 2^nd bedroom for my painting and you said right away that you wanted to use it. I stopped even trying to do this.
I would like for you to take care of yourself and get some answers regarding your health and wellness.
Some of the steps I am taking include:
I am currently looking for a place of my own, so we both have space to work on our own stuff. I need time to reflect on myself and discover who I am again. I’m looking for peace within myself and feel I need to do this on my own.
I have opened my own account and my next pay check will be deposited into this account.
I am seeing a counselor.
In restarting our journey, I support your promise to clean up the basement and to sell the stuff. I am also hurting at this time, we both need to heal so we can continue.
I think it's best if we communicate through email for now. I will respond within 24 hours.

After this, she began asking me questions over several days about things, accounts, etc., and I reasoned she was seeing a lawyer. So I made an appointment and saw a lawyer, and we drafted a letter to send to her. In the meantime, before receiving that letter, she filed for divorce, with no possibility of reconciliation, and she filed to take all of my assets, and for a restraining and protection order. She filed to take the house, and have exclusive access to it, etc.
I began trying to figure out where this was all coming from. I started looking at the phone bills, something I had never done before. I reversed phone numbers she had called, and then saw that during the time she was at the hotel, she had zero phone calls, except for one. She received a call at 11:30pm on the first night she was staying there, The same night she mentioned she was awakened by car alarms when I asked how her night was.
Why did she get a phone call at 11:30pm, who was it? Why no other calls for the rest of her stay? People she would talk to knew she was away? She would typically have at least 3-5 calls minimum every single day on her phone.
Unfortunately, incoming calls don't have a call number listed, just that it is incoming. The call lasted for 2 minutes.
While she was 'separated' from me, but still living in the same home, she would not talk to me. At all. One evening, a few weeks after the divorce filing, she was texting someone, and at 9pm she went to bed. Half hour later she got up, and went out the door, and was gone for 2 hours, returning at 11:30pm, going straight to bed. Something she had never done before.
I was blindsided and struck by this separation, and then divorce. I mean, our marriage wasn't great for years, no sex, no intimacy, no "love", but I had figured she just needed some space. I gave her space.
One thing that happened 3 weeks before she separated from me, our son came to me, and told me that his mom was acting really weird for the past while. He said he had some ideas, but he didn't want to tell me because he didn't want to be wrong. I told him I already had ideas, and I had already talked to friends who gave me their opinion, and just spit it out. He said he thought she was cheating on me, and that it was possibly someone from the car cruise group. He told me about the texting incident while driving to the hospital.
Additionally, he told me the first time she took him to the car group, she told him MANY times "you don't have to worry about me, all of these people are married". He said at one point "why are you telling me that?" and she said "well, I didn't want you to think I'm seeing other people behind your dad's back".
On top of this, I had started checking up on her when she would say where she was going. And she wasn't going there. She said she went for coffee at a coworker's house, and when I went for a drive while she was there, I found she wasn't there. She also had texted me at least 8 times that she was going to see Nettie for coffee. Which is funny because I ran into Nettie a few weeks ago, and Nettie hadn't seen her since last summer, when my wife betrayed her trust somehow and walked out on their friendship.
Was my wife cheating on me? She refuses to talk to me. She is telling people lies, like saying that I came to the hotel and checked up on her while she was there, telling the front desk people to "call him if anyone goes to his wife's room". She has told people I know that I had accused her of cheating on me, and I wasn't trusting her, etc.
Is she just done with our marriage? I think it all fell apart 5 years ago, but I'm not entirely sure. The way she was with me, and at home was nearly the same until the day she gave me a separation email, as it was for the prior 5 years. Was she faking it for 5 years?
In the meantime, she has turned her daughter away from me. She and our son went out for the afternoon a couple of months ago, and she told him "isn't it so shitty what dad did to mom?". I didn't do anything... I don't get it.
If she comes crawling back to me, I will not get back together with her. She has proven now that she is 100% untrustworthy. And without trust, there can be no relationship.

submitted by PolarBearChewChew to relationship_advice [link] [comments]

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