Work skit ideas

A family member recently had a baby and has been exhibiting psychosis for at least 8 months. Moods swings, risky behavior, strange bouts of forgetfullness, they speak and act differently, and misconstrue narratives/lied to make the family "believe" them. Doctors have been no help. I am their sibling. I've tried to reach out to medical team and they told me I cannot. I have no idea what else to do.
They are being seen by a therapist and psychologist but I believe they are able to mask before they go into sessions as they used to work at an inpatient facility and deliver psych assessments. We have a family history of psychosis. I am very concerned.

We take seats at a meeting table in the castle, Princess Jiakyn taking a seat first, then Seirialia, Tyrelia, Trenon, Lankensy and Kyrem, then the castle commanders who are quite surprised by presence of princess in their castle, and lastly Jakan and I take seats.
'Alright, explain then.' Lankensy says calmly to Princess Jiakyn. I wish I could have talked to Jakan about her before we sat down.
'Well, it took some persuasion for me to make the journey here. I am not going to just learn with theory, I need something to practice on and I have spell ideas that I want to try out.' Princess Jiakyn says calmly and in persuasive tone. Jakan and I looked into each others eyes for a moment, Jakan looks very concerned and, really wanted to say something but, chose to stay quiet.
'This is a war zone, and there is a good reason why there is a travel ban in this zone too.' Kyrem says straightly without hesitation.
'All the more reason for me to be here, the soldiers would need my presence, so that they know that their efforts will not be thrown away and that they will be remembered.' Princess Jiakyn states in honest tone.
'Do you really believe that you are ready to witness horrors of war?' Jakan asks calmly and interested to Princess' answer. For a moment she looked unsure and slightly insulted that Jakan was the one to ask the question, she looked at others present and even at me. She noticed that all of people here agree with Jakan's question.
'I do.' Princess Jiakyn says with slight hesitation.
'Bold answer, I know it is rude of me to question you, but, know this, I have already vowed that. It is either life, or death, that will carry on. I have seen those horrors myself, I have even fought and executed my own brother in arms. There are good reasons why the castle commanders and heroes of the riven war agreed with why I asked.' Jakan states, not entirely convinced but, willing to guide, guard, shelter, save and teach Princess Jiakyn, if the heroes of the riven war allow.
'How do you have such confidence in the words you have spoken? Ghaudunian.' Princess Jiakyn asks after glancing at all present here.
'As I am a Ghaudunian, I have good grasp of both active and passive effects of dark arcane on people. I have warred against undead before the war, I have seen the horrors, faced sorrowing defeats and lived through moments of triumph. Here, there is only death, life and struggle. One of the heroes of riven war, has met me before the war.' Jakan replies without hesitation and puts weight on his words.
'He was one of the groundskeepers of the Ghaudunian academy which I studied at. Draconian is a brave, stalwart and a dominant figure cast from metal and forged from war. Not many survived from the beginning, to the end of the war. When he speaks of facing undead, it is for your better that you listen.' Seirialia says with honesty.
'You have spoken well, draconian. Although, I have a feeling that my presence here is not exactly welcome.' Princess Jiakyn states to Jakan.
'Not only have we caused a diplomatic and political scandal, I do fear that the undead would make you a priority target to capture. These are not feral or dark arcane maddened undead we are facing, somebody is organizing this affair.' Jakan replies calmly and shows the maps. Princess asked for a confirmation from heroes of the riven war and castle commanders.
'Jakan speaks the truth, I personally witnessed his victory over a revenant champion. His sword is fine, as is his mind for war. Such a destructive figure of battle, are rare and continuing to survive. Surely one of the finest retainers of the shadowy ones.' Salgi states with respect.
'Not only is he strong but, also has knack for dueling. Tied with Lankensy before his victory in a mock duel. Ages like finest wine, princess. I know and understand your distrust towards the Ghaudunians but, in this matter. There are no nations.' Kyrem states with respect.
'What about you? You must be a junior agent.' Princess Jiakyn says heeding the words of to be her people, one day. She asks from me.
'I am indeed a junior agent, it is thanks to me that we know some specifics of who plausibly are behind this. Where my senior, is a cliff breaker, I am his eyes and ears, where he is not. I am new to the organization, but, our lords strongly believed that my skills would only benefit your nation's grand effort on solving this crisis, which is why I am here.' Speak out my purpose of being here to her.
Princess Jiakyn listened very carefully what I said. Closing her eyes to ponder, she nodded and opened her eyes again. That eye color has to be rare for people of Valerie, pink and yellow. Her physical stature, isn't ideal for war but, if she is at least one quarter of Seirialia's skill in arcane. She most certainly would make a difference.
'Alright. I will place my trust on both of you. I believe you are both here to help.' Princess Jiakyn says to me and Jakan. I feel mildly relieved, still, her presence here is double edged matter, I sense she is mildly overconfident but, worse is that she is untested. 'What are your plans for today?' Princess Jiakyn asks in her usual tone of, slightly confident and strong.
'We do need to escort the supply caravan to the town to the north and north west. Right now, we need mages that can heal wounds and work as secondary ranged units. Princess Jiakyn, may I request your presence at the town?' Lankensy asks, this would be both perfect opportunity to bolster morale of the citizens of the town but, also place a target on her back though... Lankensy looks into eyes of Jakan and I.
I think I understand his intentions, Jakan to act as part of the caravan guard and, maybe send me ahead to scout whether it is safe for the princess to enter... Smart man. Jakan ponders what Lankensy tried to indicate to him.
'From what I have heard, the town was in terrible danger previously, what has changed?' Princess Jiakyn asks mildly surprised of Lankensy's proposal.
Castle commanders brief Princess Jiakyn of the situation. Northern sectors of the castle to the town are pretty much back in control of Valerie. She smiles warmly of hearing these news. 'What about you heroes? What are you going to do while this is on going?' Princess Jiakyn asks.
'Kyrem, Tyrelia. Do you two think you can go with me to the town as escorts for the supply caravan?' Lankensy asks after thinking about the situation for a moment.
'This makes sense, we are going to need only good fighters just in case we get intercepted.' Kyrem says, Tyrelia nods in agreement.
'We are quite busy here already. The mages will provide a lot of help in healing these people, I need your assistance too, lady Seirialia.' Trenon says calmly.
'After seeing the slugging match yesterday, I agree with you, Trenon. The more we can help to recover sooner, the better.' Seirialia says, well, that's that for the plans of actually getting to know the heroes of the riven war better.
'What do you want us to do meanwhile then?' Jakan asks pondering how Lankensy is going to answer his question.
'I was planning on having you part of the security convoy and have Volarie check the town for anything suspicious.' Lankensy replies calmly.
'Hmm... Solid thinking. I wouldn't be able to avoid attention in a city. Are you okay with this plan? Princess Jiakyn.' Jakan says calmly.
Jiakyn thinks for a while. 'I do not have objections. When do we depart?' Princess Jiakyn asks somewhat excited to get started.
'It will take a while for the supplies required for the castle to be unloaded. No thoughts on what to do while it is on going...' Lankensy states thinking about the matter.
'How about getting to know each other then?' Princess Jiakyn proposes warmly and innocently. She has some ulterior motives that I can speculate but, no way I am voicing them here, I believe Jakan is thinking the same.
'Well, there isn't really anything else better to do.' Tyrelia says with content tone.
'All of the forces required for the convoy are being amassed as the time goes by anyway.' Kyrem says with a neutral tone, not being for or against the idea.
'A sound idea, I would like to get to know you better, Jakan. Warrior like you, along with the past you have had, must have quite tales to share.' Lankensy says, interested to talk with Jakan. I am guessing that he looks to learn, both history and combat from him.
Very easy to see from Jakan's expression that he is thinking about it. 'You have remained silent for the most of the talk, young agent. Is something bothering you?' Princess Jiakyn asks, warmly and calmly. I can see why people would feel warmly about her.
'At the moment, there aren't really any concerns. As the younger agent, I chose that, my senior agent handles most of the conversations with both of us present and back his words.' Reply to her calmly and partially choosing to elaborate the dynamic between me and Jakan.
'We do have the time since everything for today was already discussed yesterday. Princess, if I may be allowed to be direct with you. I would like to comment on your decision.' Jakan says calmly requesting an allowance to be open to her.
'You may say what is on your mind senior agent.' Princess Jiakyn replies calmly.
'I believe your heart is in the right place when you came here but, I fear for your safety of being here. As you already know, our most recent victory which has secured north east and north of the castle, has very likely escalated the conflict. I have strong suspicions that, once enemy agents in or outside of the castle find out of your presence here, you will be a high value target, which could swing this conflict into favor of our common enemy.' Jakan states humbly and professionally.
'I believe in my people to be wise to not choose such action, and that you agents. Will spare no effort in thwarting any action taken against me.' Princess Jiakyn replies confidently.
'It is just us two here, no more, no less. Princess, I believe I am stretching your willingness to hear those, once your opponents word's but, I plea that you will seek council of the heroes of the riven war when you are making decisions of where to apply yourself. Our combined presence most likely has already set the rumors running, which is my secondary concern.' Jakan says with consideration and caution.
'Your concerns are certainly reasonable, agent Jakan. Once the information of why you are here and involved with our war against the undead, such rumors should no longer be of concern. I will take your plea into consideration.' Princess Jiakyn says calmly, I quickly glance at Jakan, who is, not all that convinced but, fears overstepping his influence, so chooses to just nod deeply to Princess Jiakyn.
Castle commanders speak with Princess Jiakyn and after talking for a while. The private talk is over and we all go take our positions to be ready for the convoy's departure to the town. Lankensy and Jakan go to talk slightly further away from Princess Jiakyn, Kyrem and me.
She could be trying her luck on find out more about me than I am willing to share or about our organization. To my surprise, slightly to my own happiness. 'From what I have heard from my friends, your past was a rather ugly one, societally. I know some deeds of those whose name is Volarie.' Kyrem states to open the conversation.
'I remember reading about my name, how terrifying the weight of it is, certainly explained a lot of the treatment I received. What do you know?' Reply to him calmly, keeping my happiness hidden from him.
'A ghaudunian self learned rogue, who stole, murdered and misdirected Ghaudun in the past, to aid Valerie in all ways possible. This rogue was finally cornered by Ghaudunian guards and some army personnel, chose to take it's own life, than ever reveal anything to it's fellow countrymen. I read some about his exploits, what a scoundrel... Part of me wonders what part will you play.' Kyrem speaks what he knows, his face is masked by the whole head helmet he wears.
'Know that it will not be as anything grandeur as those who came before me, I intend on keeping the home I have. There won't be one like it.' Say with light seriousness.
'Your lords chose wisely to adopt you into their order, you must not have taken the news lightly.' Kyrem replies, referring to my blood, human and dragon in nature.
'It shocked me, part of me wanted to run, part of me wanted to very much not believe it... I had those rumors myself. When I was introduced my new part of my family, it changed me, in all ways, for the better.' Say with warmth. Princess Jiakyn looks confused but, I as expected, she realized quite quickly.
'You have blood of a dragon of Ghaudun?' Princess Jiakyn asks mildly shocked by the realization, even if it isn't all of it.
'Yes, it was a battle accident. We believe primary target was the one whose blood I share. I became a secondary target, just because of proximity. Investigation is still on, we do not have answers yet.' Reply to her calmly.
'I have read about the tales of those who have dragon blood, few even have written book or two. Variety of those tales is, as large as backgrounds and jobs they did before the discovery. You have blood of a shadow dragon?' Princess Jiakyn asks, tone telling that she is interested to hear more.
'I do. Never believed that something like this would happen to me, but, here I am. Ever since the day of meeting him, my life has become a lot better.' Reply in content tone.
'Volarie. I will be quite interested on reading what you have written of your life. Have you learned anything special from the mixing of the blood?' Princess Jiakyn asks excited to hear. Briefly, I smile cunningly to her and then vanish into a shadow before her and Kyrem's very eyes.
'Seirialia told me of your abilities, now, I most certainly believe her...' Kyrem says with slight shock and awe in his voice, as I just stand mixed into the shadows, there, but, not there.
'Learning from the artists and masters of dark arcane, most certainly must have helped. I have read about this ability but, never expected to witness it with my own eyes. Your life most certainly went through a great change...' Princess Jiakyn says with respect, awe and some admiration.
I appear from the embrace of the shadows and stand confidently. 'They most certainly taught me well, I feared the dark arcane, they taught me how to use it and imparted knowledge which helped me greatly to never again fear it. Now I dance with the light and dark as easily as I breathe.' Reply warmly and staying humble.
'You are still young, the best is, it is only upwards from here for you. Envious of you I am, I have only began to understand the other arcanes.' Princess Jiakyn says being open about her emotions to an extent.
'Know that it wasn't easy but, even my teachers admitted that they were somewhat surprised how I was responding to their teachings, even with the struggles here and there.' Reply to her calmly and remembering some of those times.
'It is the only arcane you are adept at?' Princess Jiakyn asks, somewhat doubtful of my words.
'It is, during the Riven War, many of the talents, both dragon and non-dragon were lost, one way or another. They said that, I have a knack for some specific areas of dark arcane, they would have been interested to see what potential I have with the other arcanes but, many of the shadow dragons agreed that having me here, along with Jakan, is the best combination.' Explain to Princess Jiakyn calmly, she isn't a child.
More towards late teens than young adult, state where her world view is growing far more comprehensive and more detailed than before. 'You grew up during the war. Didn't you?' Princess Jiakyn asks, most likely has deduced my age enough well to ask.
'Yes, it was bad, peace... Almost as bad. There are a lot of strong personal emotions, for now, I do not feel safe enough to tell you about them.' Reply carefully and making it clear that, it is a rather sore area.
Princess Jiakyn was about to ask but, Kyrem placed his left hand on Princess Jiakyn's right shoulder, prompting the younger to look at him, he shook his head in reply to the confused expression of the late teen. 'I believe it was commander Salgi who put it best. "War's monsters are not always fought at the front lines." Those are memories best shared in a far more less intense environment.' Kyrem states in straight tone.
Princess Jiakyn seems to struggle understand as her gaze fixates upon me. 'I do not understand.' Princess Jiakyn says to Kyrem when they seem to make eye contact.
'I am not the right person teach you about it. Believe in this though, she wouldn't mind change of subject.' Kyrem says calmly and let's go of Princess Jiakyn's shoulder. Interesting, royal family must trust Kyrem so strongly that they would allow that type of interaction. Princess Jiakyn looked quite surprised and slightly disappointed. I nodded to her, that Kyrem is correct.
She seems to relent, probably acknowledging that there are boundaries that needs to be respected. Thank you Kyrem, I do not think I am at all comfortable to speak about it to her. She thinks for a moment and looks at Jakan for a moment, who is talking with Lankensy. The two warrior's seem quite content with their discussion.
'How did you get to know him?' Princess Jiakyn asks as I look at Jakan for a moment with a small warm smile of happiness. I look at the princess and think about my response.
'First time I ever saw him, was when he doing melee training, felt quite intimidated and scared to talk to him or even be in his presence, so, I just left my melee training for later. Made enough sound for him to realize that somebody had entered the room but, left a lot sooner than what was normal to him.
The shadow dragons had found out about my avoidance of other members of the organization which were not dragon. They told me that, they learned from the war that, incoherent organization, that is not able to trust members within the organization is not a well functioning organization.
They said that, they will allow me to take my time to approach him. It was a lot sooner than later, they set up our proper introduction, relatively innocently. He is whole lot gentle than from outside he might seem to be. Now, we talk like we are life long friends. The draconian is most certainly is a veteran and fluent, of war and death, but, he can be a good mentor about life and peace.' Explain to Jiakyn who is listening very carefully, Kyrem is also listening.
'It sounds rather strange of you to word it how you did. What caused such a shift in him?' Princess Jiakyn asks intrigued.
'There is always change, that which we can observe, that which we can be, to put it quite bluntly, very ignorant off.' Answer to Princess Jiakyn, who looks at Kyrem, man nods deeply in agreement.

Hi everyone !
I'm a Juri main since day one but I always wanted to main JP, he seems like he's perfect for my playstyle but I always felt overwhelmed by his kit. I always have a blast playing as him, he's so much fun !! So even though I'm probably not gonna main him yet (I'd like to wait until S2 characters are announced before I commit to that idea) I would like to at least know a few tricks with him so I have a pocket character when I'm bored of Juri. Also, my rival plays A.K.I, he already struggles against JP but any tip against A.K.I would be nice, in order to make his life even harder 😈
I'm not that good of a player yet, I've played SF very casually for over 10 years but I'm only getting into serious play. I know how fighting games work (former Smash player) but I'm not a very good player yet, so I'm looking to basic to medium level tips.
Thanks a lot :)

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Guten Tag. (my german is oxidated ahahha)
Firstly I am from Spain and i am 19 years old. Right now i am studying a vocational training (related with robots, programming robots arms etc...).
Since 17 years old i had been doubting about working in another country who speaks Deustch (either,switzerland,Germany or Austria). On top of that. This year i visited Berlin and first time step in Deutschland. To be honest my stay in Berlin was pleasant. So i was thinking about working and have a life in Germany.
My question is how worthwhile is emigrate to Deutschland. I have no clue which city is better.
That's why i am writting this post in order to have a clear idea of how is Germany right know in terms of politics,rent house,wages etc...
(i want to remark that, any source you have about taxes,salaries are well welcome. I will be grateful to be informed about Deustchland.)
Danke.

Hey all, I have a Hayward Aquavac 500 that stopped working. After 3-4 yrs I had to replace the cord and it costed me $600. It stopped working again and I’m thinking it’s the same. When I went online, someone said that this was a common problem with this model that over time the cord eroded inside the machine and you need to replace it. I really don’t want to spend another $600 but can’t afford to spend $1200+ for a new one. Any ideas where I can get a new cord for this model at a cheaper amount? Couldn’t find anything in kijiji. Thanks Joe

We take seats at a meeting table in the castle, Princess Jiakyn taking a seat first, then Seirialia, Tyrelia, Trenon, Lankensy and Kyrem, then the castle commanders who are quite surprised by presence of princess in their castle, and lastly Jakan and I take seats.
'Alright, explain then.' Lankensy says calmly to Princess Jiakyn. I wish I could have talked to Jakan about her before we sat down.
'Well, it took some persuasion for me to make the journey here. I am not going to just learn with theory, I need something to practice on and I have spell ideas that I want to try out.' Princess Jiakyn says calmly and in persuasive tone. Jakan and I looked into each others eyes for a moment, Jakan looks very concerned and, really wanted to say something but, chose to stay quiet.
'This is a war zone, and there is a good reason why there is a travel ban in this zone too.' Kyrem says straightly without hesitation.
'All the more reason for me to be here, the soldiers would need my presence, so that they know that their efforts will not be thrown away and that they will be remembered.' Princess Jiakyn states in honest tone.
'Do you really believe that you are ready to witness horrors of war?' Jakan asks calmly and interested to Princess' answer. For a moment she looked unsure and slightly insulted that Jakan was the one to ask the question, she looked at others present and even at me. She noticed that all of people here agree with Jakan's question.
'I do.' Princess Jiakyn says with slight hesitation.
'Bold answer, I know it is rude of me to question you, but, know this, I have already vowed that. It is either life, or death, that will carry on. I have seen those horrors myself, I have even fought and executed my own brother in arms. There are good reasons why the castle commanders and heroes of the riven war agreed with why I asked.' Jakan states, not entirely convinced but, willing to guide, guard, shelter, save and teach Princess Jiakyn, if the heroes of the riven war allow.
'How do you have such confidence in the words you have spoken? Ghaudunian.' Princess Jiakyn asks after glancing at all present here.
'As I am a Ghaudunian, I have good grasp of both active and passive effects of dark arcane on people. I have warred against undead before the war, I have seen the horrors, faced sorrowing defeats and lived through moments of triumph. Here, there is only death, life and struggle. One of the heroes of riven war, has met me before the war.' Jakan replies without hesitation and puts weight on his words.
'He was one of the groundskeepers of the Ghaudunian academy which I studied at. Draconian is a brave, stalwart and a dominant figure cast from metal and forged from war. Not many survived from the beginning, to the end of the war. When he speaks of facing undead, it is for your better that you listen.' Seirialia says with honesty.
'You have spoken well, draconian. Although, I have a feeling that my presence here is not exactly welcome.' Princess Jiakyn states to Jakan.
'Not only have we caused a diplomatic and political scandal, I do fear that the undead would make you a priority target to capture. These are not feral or dark arcane maddened undead we are facing, somebody is organizing this affair.' Jakan replies calmly and shows the maps. Princess asked for a confirmation from heroes of the riven war and castle commanders.
'Jakan speaks the truth, I personally witnessed his victory over a revenant champion. His sword is fine, as is his mind for war. Such a destructive figure of battle, are rare and continuing to survive. Surely one of the finest retainers of the shadowy ones.' Salgi states with respect.
'Not only is he strong but, also has knack for dueling. Tied with Lankensy before his victory in a mock duel. Ages like finest wine, princess. I know and understand your distrust towards the Ghaudunians but, in this matter. There are no nations.' Kyrem states with respect.
'What about you? You must be a junior agent.' Princess Jiakyn says heeding the words of to be her people, one day. She asks from me.
'I am indeed a junior agent, it is thanks to me that we know some specifics of who plausibly are behind this. Where my senior, is a cliff breaker, I am his eyes and ears, where he is not. I am new to the organization, but, our lords strongly believed that my skills would only benefit your nation's grand effort on solving this crisis, which is why I am here.' Speak out my purpose of being here to her.
Princess Jiakyn listened very carefully what I said. Closing her eyes to ponder, she nodded and opened her eyes again. That eye color has to be rare for people of Valerie, pink and yellow. Her physical stature, isn't ideal for war but, if she is at least one quarter of Seirialia's skill in arcane. She most certainly would make a difference.
'Alright. I will place my trust on both of you. I believe you are both here to help.' Princess Jiakyn says to me and Jakan. I feel mildly relieved, still, her presence here is double edged matter, I sense she is mildly overconfident but, worse is that she is untested. 'What are your plans for today?' Princess Jiakyn asks in her usual tone of, slightly confident and strong.
'We do need to escort the supply caravan to the town to the north and north west. Right now, we need mages that can heal wounds and work as secondary ranged units. Princess Jiakyn, may I request your presence at the town?' Lankensy asks, this would be both perfect opportunity to bolster morale of the citizens of the town but, also place a target on her back though... Lankensy looks into eyes of Jakan and I.
I think I understand his intentions, Jakan to act as part of the caravan guard and, maybe send me ahead to scout whether it is safe for the princess to enter... Smart man. Jakan ponders what Lankensy tried to indicate to him.
'From what I have heard, the town was in terrible danger previously, what has changed?' Princess Jiakyn asks mildly surprised of Lankensy's proposal.
Castle commanders brief Princess Jiakyn of the situation. Northern sectors of the castle to the town are pretty much back in control of Valerie. She smiles warmly of hearing these news. 'What about you heroes? What are you going to do while this is on going?' Princess Jiakyn asks.
'Kyrem, Tyrelia. Do you two think you can go with me to the town as escorts for the supply caravan?' Lankensy asks after thinking about the situation for a moment.
'This makes sense, we are going to need only good fighters just in case we get intercepted.' Kyrem says, Tyrelia nods in agreement.
'We are quite busy here already. The mages will provide a lot of help in healing these people, I need your assistance too, lady Seirialia.' Trenon says calmly.
'After seeing the slugging match yesterday, I agree with you, Trenon. The more we can help to recover sooner, the better.' Seirialia says, well, that's that for the plans of actually getting to know the heroes of the riven war better.
'What do you want us to do meanwhile then?' Jakan asks pondering how Lankensy is going to answer his question.
'I was planning on having you part of the security convoy and have Volarie check the town for anything suspicious.' Lankensy replies calmly.
'Hmm... Solid thinking. I wouldn't be able to avoid attention in a city. Are you okay with this plan? Princess Jiakyn.' Jakan says calmly.
Jiakyn thinks for a while. 'I do not have objections. When do we depart?' Princess Jiakyn asks somewhat excited to get started.
'It will take a while for the supplies required for the castle to be unloaded. No thoughts on what to do while it is on going...' Lankensy states thinking about the matter.
'How about getting to know each other then?' Princess Jiakyn proposes warmly and innocently. She has some ulterior motives that I can speculate but, no way I am voicing them here, I believe Jakan is thinking the same.
'Well, there isn't really anything else better to do.' Tyrelia says with content tone.
'All of the forces required for the convoy are being amassed as the time goes by anyway.' Kyrem says with a neutral tone, not being for or against the idea.
'A sound idea, I would like to get to know you better, Jakan. Warrior like you, along with the past you have had, must have quite tales to share.' Lankensy says, interested to talk with Jakan. I am guessing that he looks to learn, both history and combat from him.
Very easy to see from Jakan's expression that he is thinking about it. 'You have remained silent for the most of the talk, young agent. Is something bothering you?' Princess Jiakyn asks, warmly and calmly. I can see why people would feel warmly about her.
'At the moment, there aren't really any concerns. As the younger agent, I chose that, my senior agent handles most of the conversations with both of us present and back his words.' Reply to her calmly and partially choosing to elaborate the dynamic between me and Jakan.
'We do have the time since everything for today was already discussed yesterday. Princess, if I may be allowed to be direct with you. I would like to comment on your decision.' Jakan says calmly requesting an allowance to be open to her.
'You may say what is on your mind senior agent.' Princess Jiakyn replies calmly.
'I believe your heart is in the right place when you came here but, I fear for your safety of being here. As you already know, our most recent victory which has secured north east and north of the castle, has very likely escalated the conflict. I have strong suspicions that, once enemy agents in or outside of the castle find out of your presence here, you will be a high value target, which could swing this conflict into favor of our common enemy.' Jakan states humbly and professionally.
'I believe in my people to be wise to not choose such action, and that you agents. Will spare no effort in thwarting any action taken against me.' Princess Jiakyn replies confidently.
'It is just us two here, no more, no less. Princess, I believe I am stretching your willingness to hear those, once your opponents word's but, I plea that you will seek council of the heroes of the riven war when you are making decisions of where to apply yourself. Our combined presence most likely has already set the rumors running, which is my secondary concern.' Jakan says with consideration and caution.
'Your concerns are certainly reasonable, agent Jakan. Once the information of why you are here and involved with our war against the undead, such rumors should no longer be of concern. I will take your plea into consideration.' Princess Jiakyn says calmly, I quickly glance at Jakan, who is, not all that convinced but, fears overstepping his influence, so chooses to just nod deeply to Princess Jiakyn.
Castle commanders speak with Princess Jiakyn and after talking for a while. The private talk is over and we all go take our positions to be ready for the convoy's departure to the town. Lankensy and Jakan go to talk slightly further away from Princess Jiakyn, Kyrem and me.
She could be trying her luck on find out more about me than I am willing to share or about our organization. To my surprise, slightly to my own happiness. 'From what I have heard from my friends, your past was a rather ugly one, societally. I know some deeds of those whose name is Volarie.' Kyrem states to open the conversation.
'I remember reading about my name, how terrifying the weight of it is, certainly explained a lot of the treatment I received. What do you know?' Reply to him calmly, keeping my happiness hidden from him.
'A ghaudunian self learned rogue, who stole, murdered and misdirected Ghaudun in the past, to aid Valerie in all ways possible. This rogue was finally cornered by Ghaudunian guards and some army personnel, chose to take it's own life, than ever reveal anything to it's fellow countrymen. I read some about his exploits, what a scoundrel... Part of me wonders what part will you play.' Kyrem speaks what he knows, his face is masked by the whole head helmet he wears.
'Know that it will not be as anything grandeur as those who came before me, I intend on keeping the home I have. There won't be one like it.' Say with light seriousness.
'Your lords chose wisely to adopt you into their order, you must not have taken the news lightly.' Kyrem replies, referring to my blood, human and dragon in nature.
'It shocked me, part of me wanted to run, part of me wanted to very much not believe it... I had those rumors myself. When I was introduced my new part of my family, it changed me, in all ways, for the better.' Say with warmth. Princess Jiakyn looks confused but, I as expected, she realized quite quickly.
'You have blood of a dragon of Ghaudun?' Princess Jiakyn asks mildly shocked by the realization, even if it isn't all of it.
'Yes, it was a battle accident. We believe primary target was the one whose blood I share. I became a secondary target, just because of proximity. Investigation is still on, we do not have answers yet.' Reply to her calmly.
'I have read about the tales of those who have dragon blood, few even have written book or two. Variety of those tales is, as large as backgrounds and jobs they did before the discovery. You have blood of a shadow dragon?' Princess Jiakyn asks, tone telling that she is interested to hear more.
'I do. Never believed that something like this would happen to me, but, here I am. Ever since the day of meeting him, my life has become a lot better.' Reply in content tone.
'Volarie. I will be quite interested on reading what you have written of your life. Have you learned anything special from the mixing of the blood?' Princess Jiakyn asks excited to hear. Briefly, I smile cunningly to her and then vanish into a shadow before her and Kyrem's very eyes.
'Seirialia told me of your abilities, now, I most certainly believe her...' Kyrem says with slight shock and awe in his voice, as I just stand mixed into the shadows, there, but, not there.
'Learning from the artists and masters of dark arcane, most certainly must have helped. I have read about this ability but, never expected to witness it with my own eyes. Your life most certainly went through a great change...' Princess Jiakyn says with respect, awe and some admiration.
I appear from the embrace of the shadows and stand confidently. 'They most certainly taught me well, I feared the dark arcane, they taught me how to use it and imparted knowledge which helped me greatly to never again fear it. Now I dance with the light and dark as easily as I breathe.' Reply warmly and staying humble.
'You are still young, the best is, it is only upwards from here for you. Envious of you I am, I have only began to understand the other arcanes.' Princess Jiakyn says being open about her emotions to an extent.
'Know that it wasn't easy but, even my teachers admitted that they were somewhat surprised how I was responding to their teachings, even with the struggles here and there.' Reply to her calmly and remembering some of those times.
'It is the only arcane you are adept at?' Princess Jiakyn asks, somewhat doubtful of my words.
'It is, during the Riven War, many of the talents, both dragon and non-dragon were lost, one way or another. They said that, I have a knack for some specific areas of dark arcane, they would have been interested to see what potential I have with the other arcanes but, many of the shadow dragons agreed that having me here, along with Jakan, is the best combination.' Explain to Princess Jiakyn calmly, she isn't a child.
More towards late teens than young adult, state where her world view is growing far more comprehensive and more detailed than before. 'You grew up during the war. Didn't you?' Princess Jiakyn asks, most likely has deduced my age enough well to ask.
'Yes, it was bad, peace... Almost as bad. There are a lot of strong personal emotions, for now, I do not feel safe enough to tell you about them.' Reply carefully and making it clear that, it is a rather sore area.
Princess Jiakyn was about to ask but, Kyrem placed his left hand on Princess Jiakyn's right shoulder, prompting the younger to look at him, he shook his head in reply to the confused expression of the late teen. 'I believe it was commander Salgi who put it best. "War's monsters are not always fought at the front lines." Those are memories best shared in a far more less intense environment.' Kyrem states in straight tone.
Princess Jiakyn seems to struggle understand as her gaze fixates upon me. 'I do not understand.' Princess Jiakyn says to Kyrem when they seem to make eye contact.
'I am not the right person teach you about it. Believe in this though, she wouldn't mind change of subject.' Kyrem says calmly and let's go of Princess Jiakyn's shoulder. Interesting, royal family must trust Kyrem so strongly that they would allow that type of interaction. Princess Jiakyn looked quite surprised and slightly disappointed. I nodded to her, that Kyrem is correct.
She seems to relent, probably acknowledging that there are boundaries that needs to be respected. Thank you Kyrem, I do not think I am at all comfortable to speak about it to her. She thinks for a moment and looks at Jakan for a moment, who is talking with Lankensy. The two warrior's seem quite content with their discussion.
'How did you get to know him?' Princess Jiakyn asks as I look at Jakan for a moment with a small warm smile of happiness. I look at the princess and think about my response.
'First time I ever saw him, was when he doing melee training, felt quite intimidated and scared to talk to him or even be in his presence, so, I just left my melee training for later. Made enough sound for him to realize that somebody had entered the room but, left a lot sooner than what was normal to him.
The shadow dragons had found out about my avoidance of other members of the organization which were not dragon. They told me that, they learned from the war that, incoherent organization, that is not able to trust members within the organization is not a well functioning organization.
They said that, they will allow me to take my time to approach him. It was a lot sooner than later, they set up our proper introduction, relatively innocently. He is whole lot gentle than from outside he might seem to be. Now, we talk like we are life long friends. The draconian is most certainly is a veteran and fluent, of war and death, but, he can be a good mentor about life and peace.' Explain to Jiakyn who is listening very carefully, Kyrem is also listening.
'It sounds rather strange of you to word it how you did. What caused such a shift in him?' Princess Jiakyn asks intrigued.
'There is always change, that which we can observe, that which we can be, to put it quite bluntly, very ignorant off.' Answer to Princess Jiakyn, who looks at Kyrem, man nods deeply in agreement.

Never flown through SGN nor used Asiana. We have a family flight that unfortunately departs at 12:10am (midnight) to Korea. We want to spend our time in HCMC obviously during the day, but not sure how to handle our suitcases. One idea is leave it at the hotel, if they'd keep it reliably for us. We may also stay at an airbnb. Another idea is to book one extra day and just keep it there.
Or, we can just head to the airport first thing after check out, deposit our baggage with check in counter likely 12+ hours before departure, so we can then go around the city and come back 3 hours prior to departure.
Will this work? Please advice. Never been to Vietnam.

I had a wonderful childhood. I couldn't have asked for a better one. My parents, brother, family, ... so much love in my life.
As I got older, I started to become exposed to the harsh realities of life. The people closest to me and the ones I loved the most started to get sick and pass away. I lost my dog. Life wasnt the same. And later, was diagnosed with Crohns which had a massive impact on my life and self confidence. I felt like a lab rat.. so many tests, doctor visits, medicine, diets, needles, ... eventually extensive surgery.
Luckily, after years of torture, I made it out ok. I started to build back my confidence, and was optimistic about the future. Before I knew it, I met the love of my life. I felt so extremely lucky to have you in my life. It felt like a dream. I felt that after all that pain and loss, I had finally had something good happen to me.
As time we on, we became best friends. You confessed your love to me, said I was different than all the rest, and you saw a future with me. You expressed how special I was to you. I felt the same way.
We met eachothers families, who became so close with eachother. I truly loved your family, they felt like home. My family loved you so much... my parents loved you like a daughter, and I knew you loved them too. We had everyone's support and love. We were the golden couple. We grew and experiences so much together. Bought our first house, saw the world, new jobs, school, ... Everyone was so proud of us, and we were proud of eachother.
Somewhere along the way, you started seeking outside the relationship for attention. I knew you were very social, so at first, I was happy to see you making friends. I knew you had a difficult childhood and past, and didn't have many good friends, so I was very supportive and encouraged you to do things with your friends.
We were inseparable. Always going things together, planning trips, going on adventures. Everything was easy. We enjoyed eachothers company so much. We made eachother laugh, feel loved, and safe. We were so comfortable and open, goofy with eachother, and always so intimate.
We shared a lot of the same hobbies: plants/garden, camping, trails, video games, movies, travel, outdoors, relaxing at home, ... it didn't seem to matter what we were doing, we were happy together.
I loved making you smile and laugh. I loved seeing you happy doing what you loved, or eating a meal I'd prepare for you.
I always wanted you to have the best. Since you were in school, I provided for you. Food, toys, restaurants, trips, ... whatever you wanted. I wanted to give you the world. It felt so good to make you happy.
You would tease me and hint towards wanting to get engaged. After 3 years, it happened. We were so happy, and you were so excited and happy to share the big news. We started planning our wedding, moved into a bigger house, new jobs, everything felt good.
I never expected to love someone so much. This young woman brought so much love, happiness, and adventure into my life. She completed changed everything. Everything was so easy.. effortless.. felt right.
When we moved into your dream home, things became more stressful. The house needed a lot of work, as well as the property. Regardless, we were willing and eager to tackle projects together and were excited to make things our own.
As time went on, and school/work seemed to become more stressful for you, I was left finishing a lot of our projects and maintaining them by myself. I also stepped up and started trying to take on more of the chores and responsibilities so that you could focus on school/work and still have time to relax. I was happy to help give you some relief.
After a few months, your brother asked to be our roommate for a time. I was hesitant, but you encouraged me that it would be a good thing. He would pay and help around the house. At first, it was nice. However, as time we on, it became more and more stressful.
The stress of doing everything and having a roommate that didn't mesh well with us overwhelmed me. I knew it was temporary, so I endured it.
One day, you came home from your new job and expressed what a good day you had.. that you had the chance to work with a different doctor, and that he was very fun and nice. I was so happy to hear it, since I knew you hadn't been having good days and people had been difficult. I was glad you seemed to have a mentor.
You started to have more good days than bad, working with this person more and more. You started talking to me about them more, sharing things you learned and talked with him about. As time went on, I started to feel a bit jealous. You had been spending more time with this person than me... your shifts were long, and I hadn't been seeing you as much. You started even talking to our parents about this person.
I started to notice you texting him while we were at home together. I'd ask, and you'd happily share whatever it was you guys were talking about. One evening, you were texting this doctor late at night. I approached you about this, and expressed how it was making me feel. I felt that it had started to become too much, and wasn't appropriate. I didn't like the idea of this older married man communicating with my young fiance so much. I expressed that I was happy that you had a friend at work, but felt that it was becoming too personal and inappropriate. You tried to reassure me that you were just friends, and that he was old and married, you would never be attracted to him. I stood firm and expressed that I would like for you to only communicate while at work, or for work related matters. You agreed and assured me it was nothing.
As time went on, I noticed you would sometimes hide your phone, turn it away, flip it upside down, or turn it off as I walked by. At first, I thought it was just me being paranoid. But as time went on, it started to mess with my head... otherwise, everything was good, so I told myself it was nothing. You started to enjoy that type of work and decided to join his practice. I was happy you were able to make up your mind and find something you enjoyed. Time went on. At some point, you needed an invasive procedure done... and you requested that doctor complete it. I didn't love the idea, but you preferred to have someone do it that you trusted. After that, the doctor seemed to be a thing of the past.
As the wedding date approached, the excitement increased. We had everything planned out and we were so excited for our big day. I saw how happy you were throughout the whole process. I couldn't believe our big day was right around the corner.
Our wedding was like a dream. Everything came together so nicely. We had the best night of our lives. I loved seeing you so happy with our friends and family there to celebrate with us. We went on a wonderful honeymoon and I felt so loved and appreciated.
Once we returned home, our roommate left, and stress started to decrease dramatically in the house. I was so relieved. You finished school, graduated, and I threw you a big surprise party to celebrate. I had always put together parties for all your special occasions, and I knew you really appreciated that. After so many nights helping you study, it felt wonderful to see you walk across that stage and finally finish.
You shortly after moved to a different hospital, and seemed to really like your new job and everyone there. Life was so good...
The house and our list of responsibilities and all the maintenance was still a lot, but I felt we were quickly starting to knock things off our list.
One week, you started working a lot... I hardly saw you that week. We'd always text and check in, saying we loved eachother, missed eachother, and looked forward to seeing eachother. When the weekend finally arrived, you had mentioned your best friend invited you to join her for girl time. I realized you hadn't seen her much lately and encouraged it.
That weekend, my grandmother had been struggling. I felt alone in our big house and had wished you were there. We checked in on eachother while you were gone. I was expecting you to return one evening, so I had dinner prepared. I was hurt when you didn't arrive and decided to stay another night with your friend.
When I saw you the next morning, I was feeling pretty down. I was already sad about my grandmother, but also felt like an after thought that week. You were so happy to see me, which was nice. We had a nice evening, spent time together, .. you never stopped telling me you loved me.
The next day after work, I got home, and you seemed so cold and distant. You seemed bothered by something. I checked in, asked if you needed anything, then went about my day. It seemed like you wanted space. I checked in every few hours, and you were busy doing something on your laptop.
I prepared dinner and started watching TV. I encouraged you to take a break, eat, and relax some before bed. You joined me on the couch, but was quiet and explained that you had some work to finish.
As it got late, I went up to bed. You explained you'd be up a little longer while you finished your work. As the hours went by, I thought it was so odd that you weren't in bed yet. I knew you had to get up early... sleep was always such a priority. I got up to check on you and to get some water. You were still on your laptop.. I noticed you were looking at rooms to something. I encouraged you to get some sleep. You joined me, looking exhausted.
We cuddled, said we loved eachother, then fell asleep. The next morning, I finished getting ready for work while you slept. As I was getting ready to leave, I sae your laptop. I decided to check and see what you were looking at... another air bnb for a trip? I was curious. We shared the laptop, so I didn't feel like I was invading her privacy.
I opened the laptop and saw apartments. I was so confused. I checker her email.. apartments. I noticed she had Facebook messenger up with recent messages. I checked... my world turned upside down. Those seconds felt like eternity as my heart sounded and my stomach sank. I read a message to a friend saying she wanted a divorce, never loved me, felt like a stranger in her house, dreaded coming home to me, ... that she loved a doctor.. he's married, but his wife is a lesbian. That was easily the worst moment of my life. I panicked and didn't know what to do... I was in shock. After a few minutes, I decided to address this with you.
I quietly walked up the stairs, sat on the edge of the bed, and calmly woke you up. You were sleepy, asking why I woke up.. you still had about 30m before work. I apologized for waking you.. As I looked at you silently, I started to cry. I quietly said "I know...". "I saw the messages". She looked back at me in shock.. eyes wide in the dark. I asked if she had been having an affair. She said no.. then started to look at me as if I wad a stranger. It was a terrible feeling.
You got up to get ready for work, and said we'd talk later that evening. You left. I was standing in the driveway and felt sick. I wasn't sure if I could make it to work.. but being at the house was making me feel worse, so I left. I didn't eat anything that while day. While at work, I prepared myself for our talk.
When we both got home, you pulled up to the house and started to pack some things while I sat on the couch. When you finally joined me, you were quiet.. asked about my day, I asked about yours.. then more silence. I asked what you needed from me. You explained that you were feeling very anxious, and didn't want me to get upset. You said you were going to stay with a friend for a few days to clear your head and wanted to talk once we were both rested.
You left for almost a week while I stayed in our big empty house, taking care of our pets, and completely confused and dead inside. I hardly ate or slept. I desperately started reading and watching whatever information I could find to help explain what was happening and to prepare myself. I spent most of my time thinking, reflecting on our life. I started tonrealize how stressed I had been... and thought about all the things I should/could have done differently. I knew I treated her so well, but no one is perfect.
Looking back, I started to think about all the red flags. Love is blind. I truly loved, trusted, and cared for this person more than anyone in the world. I thought she felt the same way... I never imagined us seperating.
I started to think of that doctor she used to talk about.. and realized she probably never stopped talking to him. I started to realize that my wife had stopped opening up to me... was no longer emotional or vulnerable... her emotional? affair started to kill the emotional intimacy between us.
I was happy just to have her in my life and enjoyed just being with her... she never expressed or talked about being unhappy... if I had known, I feel certain that we could have fixed whatever was lacking. I would have met whichever needs werent being met.
Were you lonely while I was busy working hard for us? Was she bored? I would have happily planned more outings... whenever I suggested something, you expressed that you were tired or didn't show interest. I knew you enjoyed time alone, so I never felt bad doing my own thing. I figured you would tell me of you needed or felt something...
I was so confused... started to question what was real. When did this all start? Why? How? Terrible thoughts entered my mind... so many late shifts, staying the night at the hospital, leaving early to get the air bnbs ready, ...
I also realized that towards the end, you had suddenly started to listen to different music, got a nose piercing, tattoo, talked about signing up for a sport, working out, ... these were all things I knew you had wanted to do for awhile, but it was all so sudden.
Why didn't you ever communicate... I recall you expressing your concern with my stress, but nothing else. I felt that my stress was reasonable considering everything I was doing.. and knew it was temporary. I didn't ignore it though. I saw a therapist, and started making changes. Was it all too late?
When we finally spoke again, it was so nice to just see you. We sat and you were so friendly and sweet - it reassured me that everything was going to be ok. We made small talk and joked, which immediately lightened the mood. You suggested I spoke first. I expressed my feelings and how important the marriage was.. that I'd so anything to save it. I took responsibility for my side of things and expressed the changes I had made and would continue to make. When you started, you expressed that you would always cherish our time together, but we're set on divorce. That we both deserved to be truly happy. Shortly after, you left.
The days after, you started packing your things while I was at work. I was living in a big empty house, every day getting more and more empty. I was a complete mess living in hell. Her family started to reach out to me and shower me with support, apologies, and disbelief. No one could make sense of this.
After a week or so, I couldn't take it any more, so I moved to stay with my parents while we finished moving out. I attempted to stay cordile through all this. You seemed so unphased and happy... texting me and talking to me like we were still best friends.
You explained that you felt bad for saying you never loved me... that you did, but not in the way a wife should love their husband. That it could be years, but in the future, I could count on you.
As time went on, and the pain increased, I was more distant. You texted more and more. Finally, I suggested that we limit communication unless she was interested in working on our marriage.
As the days went by, you grew colder and irritated.. I started to feel like the bad guy. I know you started to feel the weight of your decisons, and starred to project onto me. Making me the bad guy made you feel better. I attempted to end things on a good note... being helpful throughout the move out process, but you were so cold. It hurt so much... 5 wonderful years tossed aside like it never mattered.
I havent talked to you in weeks... I miss my best friend, my love, your family, our pets, and the wonderful life we built. I'm left trying to pickup the pieces. I feel so lost, confused, broken, ...
The tremendous amount of support I've gotten from both sides has helped a lot. I'm seeing a therapist, reading a lot, eating more, working out, and focusing on my self. The days are getting better, but I still have days where I am a mess.
I havent been sleeping well... always tired. Waking up several times, terrible nightmares and thoughts of you being with another man... I still have believe you would be capable of all this.. of hurting me so much.
I have urges to reach out to you... wanting to fix this, that there must be a misunderstanding... there are so many things I'd like to say. I got complacent and comfortable during our time together. I stopped doing the little things as often as I used to... I never meant to hurt you, make you feel lonely, unloved, unappreciated, ... whatever it is you felt. It's difficult for me to accept that my sweet innocent wife was capable of this... surely there was a reason?? I was just so caught up in my list of things... I was working so hard for our future.
I feel like my wife was manipulated by this man... why does an older doctor (20 years older) have a lesbian wife? He doesn't love her like she seems to think... he is using her. I feel sorry for her... I know there is no future there.
I've done a lot of reading on Attachment Styles, Limerence, love addiction, and other things that come as a result of childhood trauma. I feel like a lot of this has to do with her trauma... but also her selfishness and emotional immaturity. There is nothing I can do. I just pray she figures things out on her own, finds longlasting happiness, and puts an end to this cycle.
I would love it if we were able to reconnect in the future... I still deeply love and care for her. I don't want our story to end... none of this feels right. My gut is screaming that this is all wrong. I just know we both need to work on ourselves for the time being.
One day I had it all, the next, it crashed down before my eyes. Meeting you was the best thing to happen to me... you leaving was the worst. You rushed out of my life so quickly... I wish things were different.

TDLR:

• property was listed on the market on 24th April 2024
• we visited a property on 11th May 2024 - it was a 1.5hr open house in which we saw 4/5 other potential buyers visit. There have been no viewings since. The other buyers we saw didn’t seem that interested as the house needs A LOT of work, it was essentially a 3 bed terrace turned into a bedsit for 5 lodgers.
• we placed an offer of the asking price £625K on the next day, we were firm that this is our firm and final offer as we are limited by the 625K first time buyer stamp duty benefits (7K stamp duty on 625, and 18K stamp duty on 256 and above).
• the EA was happy with this and confirmed to get things into motion to remove the property off the market, he confirmed they had no offers. They said that they need to complete an affordability check first.
• we did the affordability check and with that they realised we can afford to purchase something significantly higher in value than this property. Weirdly the affordability guy told us to not act too excited about the property … potential red flag.
• the EA then called us ( this was within an hour) and said they had received two other offers for the property and if we want to bid against them . I told him again we are limited by stamp duty benefits but have budget of an additional 10k to be paid as fixtures and fittings. He said they are after a property value increase and I said we can only do 625.
• today ( 3 working days after our last convo with the EA) they updated the listing price to 650K and I’m assuming they will conduct another open house this weekend.

What the fuck is going on, my partner thinks we should email to say we want a response by tomorrow COB detailing our final offer of 625 and additional 10k as fixtures and fittings otherwise we will retract our offer.
The EA said to me during our last discussion last week that for what we are after and in the location we should be looking to place minimum offers of 650-700 - which seems like bullshit because I’ve seen properties sold for less.
Side note : we are looking in east London area so housing market is moving fast
Does anyone have any advice? Have no idea where to go from here

At my work we have a vehicle shuttle that picks up employees from the local town and brings them to work and drops them off at the end of the day. I am looking for an app, would need to be both Android and iOS, that folks could use to sign up.
At the bare minimum I need to be able to have people sign up for available slots by date, since people have different days off the signups would change over time and not be a fixed schedule. Quality of life features would be: assigning drivers so I can manage that part of the schedule too, ability to add more shuttles if needed in the future, and an easy to use interface since I have people with varying degrees of tech-savvy.
Any ideas? Thanks for the help!

I am considering having a mold made of a product we already sell. The product uses a bluetooth keyboard we source off of alibaba. We currently 3d print an adapter that we mount to the keyboard. This works reliably but it'd be nice to simplify our sourcing by having everything handled overseas. We'd be looking to replace our printed parts with parts we have molded.
A problem I see with this is this gives the keyboard manufacturer significant leverage over us. If the keyboard manufacturer was made aware that we invested in a mold on their specific keyboard they could realistically charge us whatever they wanted and unless we wanted to invest in a new mold we'd probably pay whatever they wanted. To an extent at least. Or alternatively they may just change their design without notifying us. They've done this before and, since we 3d printed parts, it was not a big deal, but if we invested in a mold that'd be a larger setback.
For this reason I'm leaning towards 3d printing these or trying to find a way to still 3d print these but perhaps outsourcing the assembly work. We don't do a huge volume of sales to where we need the scaling of injection molding. But it would be nice to not have to pay american wages to have these assembled.
What are people's thoughts on this ? Both on outsourcing a product while not fully controlling the product's ecosystem as well as the idea of trying to only outsource the assembly of a 3d printed product.
Thank you

I have a B.S. and M.S. in engineering fields (the M.S is operations research). My last two roles were Senior Data Scientist, including the contract role. In total 8 YOE. I never did anything cutting edge, but did my fair share of machine learning modeling and deployment, along with data pipelining, data engineering work, data visualization etc. Mostly at startups.
I've been applying for about 2 weeks now, which I know is not a lot, but I want to maximize my chances. I've reached out to connects, posted on Linkedin (for the first time ever), and am applying to any jobs that fit my skillset, since I know the market is insane right now. All rejections so far, about 10 or so, from 40-50 applications so far.
What worries me are the gaps- I haven't been employed in the last 7 months. While I've done a lot of productive things in that time, none are related to data science or engineering.
While I'll keep applying, my other ideas were

1. Take some courses to update my skillset (iffy about this one)
2. Build a small AI/data app, nothing world changing but to show I still got it
3. Change careers into SWE though I imagine that I might have even less chance there lol

I have a decent runway to survive for a year or so if i need to, considering I did a lot of investing between 2016-2020. So while I'm not in a rush right now, it's still definitely urgent for my long-term survival
Any advice is appreciated!

I've been on the job hunt for almost a year now. I've been a part of multiple interview processes and even made it to the final round of a few of them. So far, I've just been applying through most jobsites (LinkedIn, Indeed, BuiltinLA, etc.). Now I want to try networking through LinkedIn as another means of job hunting.
Most of my professional experience is sales and customer service. I'm trying to break into the tech/start-up industry. I even completed a few data analytics certifications through Google and UCLA to help me standout as a stronger candidate. Currently I'm working a contract role for an insurance agency as a finance data coordinator. The contact role won't go past June and is also subject to send even sooner than I might expect.
I'm very much a people-person and have no problem striking up a conversation when I need to. However, the idea of reaching out to strangers on LinkedIn with the intent of finding a job opportunity feels pretty daunting and a fairly awkward. Basically, I'm looking for the most effective and efficient methods of networking that will help me find a job. Any help, guidance, suggestions, or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Side note: I've had recruiters from staffing agencies reach out to me on LinkedIn regarding positions they're looking to fill. After I interview for the position, I would then follow up with the recruiter just as they instructed. I don't hear anything back from them. I understand not getting the job, but why would a recruiter ghost me instead of responding to my follow up?

I'm having a hard time correcting the topology of some Shapely polygons representing filled contours and was wondering if anyone had any ideas that could help. I'm converting MatPlotLib filled contours to Shapely Polygons, then sending those to different GIS datasets. The problem is that these polygons overlap each other since they are filled contours. They export just fine as Shapefiles though. (The answer in this StackOverflow post has a good visualization of my problem: qgis - Cutting all polygons with each other - mega slicing - Geographic Information Systems Stack Exchange)
As far as I can tell using a difference operation with a brute force nested loop against the Polygon list isn't working because it will only show the last hole and fill in the previous. So the only path forward I have been able to think of is to recreate each Polygon with the necessary inner holes. This is what I have come up with, but it isn't having the desired effect despite seeming to create new polygons with interiors.
Anyway, thanks for reading this far, and I apologize for any inefficiencies in my snippet.. I'm really just trying to get some results at this point.

polys = # List of Polygon objects levels = # List of Contour "levels" matching each polygon for i, poly in enumerate(polys): inners = [] # Any holes identified will be placed here for j, otherPoly in enumerate(polys): if i == j or levels[i] == levels[j]: continue # We skip the same contour level and object # Test if polygon contains the other if poly.contains(otherPoly): validHole = True dropInners = [] # See if this otherPoly is already covered or covers an identified hole for inner in inners: if otherPoly.contains(inner): validHole = True dropInners.append(inner) if inner.contains(otherPoly): validHole = False # Remove holes we found aren't necessary for badInner in inners: inners.remove(badInner) # Add this otherPoly as a hole if it passed above if validHole: inners.append(otherPoly) # Don't do anything if we never found any holes to add if len(inners) == 0: continue # Get list of coords for holes inCoords = [] for inner in inners: inCoords.append(inner.exterior.coords) # Make new polygon with the holes poly = Polygon(poly.exterior.coords, inCoords) Here is some sample before and after output of a couple of polygons: POLYGON ((-89.60251046025104 50.21160329607576, -89.59869230663948 50.24271844660194, -89.60251046025104 50.2468124430137, -89.63109822656115 50.24271844660194, -89.60251046025104 50.21160329607576)) POLYGON ((-89.60251046025104 50.21160329607576, -89.59869230663948 50.24271844660194, -89.60251046025104 50.2468124430137, -89.63109822656115 50.24271844660194, -89.60251046025104 50.21160329607576), (-89.63109822656115 50.24271844660194, -89.60251046025104 50.246812443013695, -89.59869230663948 50.24271844660194, -89.60251046025104 50.21160329607576, -89.63109822656115 50.24271844660194)) POLYGON ((-120.48117154811716 38.851306212489355, -120.3449782518005 38.883495145631066, -120.48117154811715 38.985473773505554, -120.52087412171866 38.883495145631066, -120.48117154811716 38.851306212489355)) POLYGON ((-120.48117154811716 38.851306212489355, -120.3449782518005 38.883495145631066, -120.48117154811715 38.985473773505554, -120.52087412171866 38.883495145631066, -120.48117154811716 38.851306212489355), (-120.52087412171866 38.883495145631066, -120.48117154811715 38.985473773505554, -120.3449782518005 38.883495145631066, -120.48117154811716 38.851306212489355, -120.52087412171866 38.883495145631066)) 

Hi everyone,
I used to use Asana as an operations manager for a small coaching firm. Now, as a stay-at-home mom, I use it as a management tool for my household. My husband and I create work requests through ticketing for one another, organize packing for trips, and most recently a huge project getting our house ready to sell.
Well, we just received an offer on our house yesterday, and the closing date is in exactly one month. We have a lot to do to get out of here (we are moving out of state). Anyway, I am sitting down to map out a project to do just that and was wondering if anyone had seen a project template that would be a good start. I am going to play around with a project management one, but I thought I would throw it out there to see if anyone has any ideas. Thanks!

As the title states, my 4.5 month old only eats in specific places and at specific times. It’s like she’s overstimulated and needs to wind down in her dark room to drink a bottle. This has been happening for the last 1.5 months and she’s starting daycare soon. They’ve said they can work with her, but it’s obviously a concern. She just started solids a few weeks ago, and she’s doing well with those/can eat well even with my toddler causing chaos.
-I’ve tried feeding soon after waking- no dice. -I’ve tried taking a break during her wake window to wind her down and feed her- no dice. - she naps like absolute garbage in the stroller or car seat, so no luck there either.
This wasn’t the case for my son, who would eat anywhere, anytime, if offered by anyone. I have no idea what to do. Any ideas or similar experiences? I thought it was a phase, or regression related but now I’m worried with daycare looming.

I have a 2003 Jeep Liberty Limited. Yeah, I know… it’s old enough to buy a beer, but it only has 130,000 miles and is mostly in decent shape for its age. Lately, though, it has a habit of not starting when I turn the key. It has a new battery and all the electrical things seem to work, the dash lights come on with the first click, but nothing happens when I turn the key to the start position. If I come back two hours later, it may start just fine. It will start over and over just fine for a few days, then just not start again out of the blue. Any ideas of things to consider that would cause symptoms like this?
I ran some codes on it, and while it does show several codes, none jump out at me about this particular problem. I’m listing them, though, in case they are relevant.
P0123 Throttle switch A circuit high P1494 Leak detect pump pressure switch Transmission control module under voltage Transmission control module valve power feed failure Antilock brake FR and LF wheel sensor failure PoweMemory Seat/Mirror module 51 open ISO coil rear
Any ideas would be appreciated. We’re at a value for the vehicle at this point where it doesn’t make sense to throw a couple of thousand dollars into it, but if there were something I could replace myself, I might squeeze another year or two out of it.

My puppy got into 1-3 grapes yesterday and then threw up. I took him straight to the vet and they started him on fluids after drawing his blood. His initial blood work looked normal but theyre going to take a second blood sample after 24 hours and compare it to the initial blood work. I have no idea what to expect. If his blood work is fine but they recommend staying longer is that completely necessary? The cost is exorbitant for my current situation. Do you see dogs make full recoveries from this?

In the last post we talk about how the chaquetrix would be upgrade for the future, or at least what I think we would be a good idea for it. In this post we go even father into how the upgrades to the chaquetrix and Ben effects his children and descendants and how they effect the universe. We talk the a new species made by Ben and the chaquetrix girls, the changeling species.
While Azmuth design the chaquetrix to save species by mating so he design that the first genertation made by the chaquetrix, AKA the kids of the wearer, could mate with both the wearer species and the pure species of their chaquetrix parent. This was done making it so the kids would have three forms, the wearer species form, a hybrid form, and pure chaquetrix parent form. He also design that the parents, no matter how the species normally propagate, would have litters of ten at least. However something happen he didn't plan for, something that happen with the chaquetrix 2 being upgrade into the chaquetrix 2.10. The children of the chaquetrix 2.10 and their descendants inhered omnicores as part of their biology, and inhered the some of the abilities of the the chaquetrix. So when Ben and the chaquetrix girls starting having children, and they had a lot of children, they were creating a new and powerful species, and species that comes in three phenotype. And in order to explain what makes this species so powerful we explain the abilities of the three phenotypes first.
Duotrix: The common form of the changelings, call duotrixes because they have three base forms. A human anodite hybrid form like that of Ben himself, a pure alien form which thanks to the nemetrix upgrade could come from non-sapient species, and hybrid form of the two. So they called duotrix because of they two base species forms and a third hybrid form of the two. They can stay any of these base for as long as they wish and as for they their abilities of these forms, well the alien form has powers of whatever that species but incease beyond what is normal for that species thank to the Potis Altiare upgrade the chaquetrix had. In their "human" form, which is also strengthen by the Potis Altiare upgrade, they are able to perform magic if the learn how to, which most do, in way similar to Gwen. While in hybrid form they have accuess to their alien powers and to a lesser extent their magic powers as well. This is due to the fact that thanks to the omnicore functions most changelings are unable to perform magic in full alien form unless that alien form is something like anodite.
However, this isn't all they can do and isn't all their forms, for while they can't fully transform into other species. They can still scan and store genetics of other species and use those genetics in other ways. But in keep in mind all other transformation outside their three based forms can only last a total of ten minutes. Now the first of these alter forms is their fusion forms, they can combine any of their three based for with the genetics of one other species. Now for their human form this just turns into another hybrid form for their other two forms it can have other changes as mix in this other species. Next is their Omni-Enchanced forms which are similar to their fusion forms but instead of a full fusion they only use the third species to enhanced their based forms. Giving them new features and some new abilities based on what species they used to enhanced themselves. There is also their amalgam forms, in which they take their alien form and combine it with nine other species to create a new hybrid, and "alien", that 1/10 the power of ten species combine. And finally the last way they can use the genetics they store in their omnicore is by making use of the slime-biot powers, giving to them thanks to the chaquetrix being upgrade to have them. To put simply they can morph their limbs, grow new ones, and make tools and weapons by using the genetics store in their omnicore as if they had a slime-biot of their own. They can also regenerate by using this feature as if they had a slime-biot (regrow lost body parts, fix damage ones) and in a way even more thanks to the fact that their consciousness is store in their omnicore, so they can even regrow their heads. And while this end of the transformations they get by other species genetics, it isn't the end of their transformations.
Thanks to inhering omnicores, they also inhered omni-naut and omni-kik which simply just allows them to wear either of said armor in any of their based forms. They also have an ultimate that allows their hybrid and alien form to become an ultimate form, and as for their human form. They lose the ability to do magic in this but they can use the powers of any alien species they have store in their omnicore, they don't transform however so can limit these powers in some way. They also have antitrix forms as well, in these state their human form becomes an osmosian form. Their skin turns grey or pale white, their hair becomes tentacle like, they grow four small horns, and they lose their magic but abosd matter instead. So they get Kevin powers basely, and they use these powers in hybrid mode as well. Their alien form and hybrid forms becomes a antitrix version of that form, causing them to be more aggressive. Then there evos forms which came about from the chaquetrix absorbing nanobots, their human become robotic like and they get the power to turn their limbs into kinds of machines as well grow machines from their body (so Rex's powers), their alien from becomes a more monstrous version of their based alien form and their hybrid form is a mix of the two.
Unitrix: A little less common the duotrixs, only one in every ten changelings is born unitrix, these are frankly just a stronger version of Eunice. They have her powers, but they don't have to touch others they can just scan them, they have evo human mode, and osmosian mode, as well as ultimate mode in which they get the ultimate powers of whatever species they using at the moment. They do store the genetics allowing their slime-biot powers to use them both now and latter, and yes this does mean they can use the powers latter as well. They also have omni-naut and omni-kik armor, but they don't have fusion, amalgam, hybrid, or Omni-Enchanced modes. And yes they can the Potis Altiare upgrade as well.
Omnitrix: Based on the name of these changeling, which only one in a hundred are born, it should be clear what they do. They can become any species, or take hybrid form of any species, and stay in based forms as long as they want. They also have fusion forms, ultimate forms, antitrix forms, evo forms, Omni-Enchaced forms, amalgam forms, omni-naut form, omni-kik forms, as well slime-biot powers, that they can freely use with any based alien and hybrid forms. They can also get new forms by scanning, Note, scanning powers can work on changeling in full based alien forms as well true member of the species. They carelt powerful version of the changeling species because of that.
Other Changeling Powers: Now quick list of powers all three types of changelings have that have that simply less obvious then the transformation powers, and has to do with their omnicores. First all changelings can change their at will, second all changelings do have some control over their looks. If they what they can permanently their looks in the same way you may change the looks of character in video game. For example they can give themselves curly hair or red eyes instead of green, and even make themselves a bit taller or shorter. They also all have an universal translator, the ability to surf the extranet, to record video and audio , to send messages including phone calls and video calls. They can generation and change clothes thanks their uniform feature on their omnicores. And finally and possibly more importantly they can store items, people, and themselves within their omnicores. Causing many changelings to see the inside of their omnicores as mix of their bedrooms and homes.
Changeling Reproduction: Where do new changelings come form? Simple, any offspring between a changeling and a non-changeling will be a changeling, and thanks to how powers work they can mate with just about anything. Now as what kind of changeling the kids will, well that depends, first of thanks to them storing genetics in their omnicore the kids could be duotrixs of any species they have in their, if they aren't unitrixs or omnitrixes instead. If two changelings have kids together, which that haven't done yet as they still see each other as family, the kids will also be changelings as well with a higher chance to get omnitrixes then normal.
And that is all I have on the changeling powers and abilities, and just how far have I though of ahead for the changeling species? Not that far, I only thought of to the time of Ben's great-great grandkids. In this future the changelings are mostly on Earth but there are a high number of them found on Galvan Prime and Petropia as well. Plus some living Primus as well, with that be being listed as their official home planet. Many changelings have join the plumbers thanks to family traditions, with a lot also choosing to become explorers to find new species to increase the power of the changeling species over all.
So what do you think of this idea? If you like you are free to use it

So I've got 2 years and a few months, including a gap year until I go to university. So basically Ive got a lot of time to increase my skills. However I can't quite work out the highest ROI skill, to bace a part time-run business off in university. Which I really only want to make a bit over, the income I would make if I got a part time job. And more be more interesting.
Currently I have a hobby doing art, and did do a online corse in html and CSS a few months ago. Which I could go back to codeing if profitable enough.
I really enjoy the idea of running a business, which I for a while kept coming up with ideas, until I realised I was just too unskilled and would make more money just getting a part time job.
Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.