By participating in this discussion, you acknowledge that all feedback is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license. https://opensource.org/license/apache-2-0
We are currently prototyping a few new projects, one of which is a new filesystem layout. We're interested in community feedback. We're specifically seeking constructive positive feedback and suggestions while temporarily setting aside compatibility concerns with existing open-source software.
Maybe this is a project you're also passionate about. Let's work together to compile the information needed to make this work. That way, we can all benefit from having the knowledge to organize our filesystem layouts based on our own preferences.

Notice

Please note that we're aware of some potential issues with the /system
directory, particularly its read-only nature. Your insights will help us address these challenges.

Goals

Our aim is to improve security, maintainability, and user experience through a more organized filesystem. Additionally, we intend to document the implementation of alternative filesystem layouts, enabling others to create and experiment with their own designs.

Introduction

In this proposed directory structure, several traditional Linux directories are redefined and organized to enhance clarity, security, and manageability. Here’s a detailed explanation:
This restructured directory layout introduces several enhancements over the traditional Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS). By isolating the core system files in a read-only `/system` partition, we significantly improve system stability and security. This separation ensures that essential system files remain untouched and safe from accidental or malicious modifications. Additionally, the use of `/apps` as the new directory for global application installations mirrors the purpose of the traditional `/usr` directory, but with a clearer distinction between system files and user-installed applications.
Moreover, sandboxing applications within `/Applications` and `/apps` provides an extra layer of security, preventing applications from interfering with each other or the core system. This method of organizing applications enhances maintainability and simplifies the management of software dependencies.
By placing mount points and media management under `/mnt`, the system organization is further clarified, distinguishing between internal and external resources. This, along with dedicated directories for user data (`/home`), network services (`/net`).
Overall, this directory structure improves security, maintainability, and clarity, making it a robust alternative to the traditional FHS layout.

Stateless Design Principle for /system

The `/system` directory follows the stateless design principle, which is fundamental in modern, secure operating systems. Here's how it works:

• Read-Only Core: The core system files in `/system` are stored on a read-only partition. This ensures that critical system files are immutable during normal operation, preventing unauthorized or accidental changes.
• Atomic Updates: Updates to the system are handled atomically. When a new system version is installed, it is placed in a separate, reserved partition. Upon a successful installation, the system is directed to boot from this new partition. This strategy minimizes downtime and ensures that updates do not disrupt the running system. If an update fails, the system can easily revert to the previous stable version.
• Separation of Concerns: By isolating system files from user data and applications, the stateless design makes the system more modular. It is easier to manage, back up, and restore. User data and applications can be preserved even if the system needs to be reset or reinstalled.
• Simplified Management: System administration is simplified as the read-only nature of `/system` reduces the risk of misconfiguration or corruption. Changes to the system are controlled and predictable, improving overall reliability.

Filesystem Tagging

Filesystem tagging is a method of adding metadata, or "tags," to files and directories within a filesystem. These tags provide additional context and information beyond the basic file attributes like name, size, and modification date. Here's a brief overview of how filesystem tagging can enhance your filesystem:

• Enhanced Metadata: Tags can provide additional context to files and directories beyond their names and locations. For example, you can tag files with keywords related to their content, purpose, or status.
• Improved Search and Filtering: Tags allow for more efficient searching and filtering of files and directories. Users and system administrators can quickly locate files based on their tags, even if they are spread across different directories.
• Simplified Management and Automation: Tags can help automate system management tasks. Scripts and system tools can use tags to apply updates, perform backups, or enforce policies more selectively and effectively.
• Security and Access Control: Tags can be used to enhance security by defining access controls and policies based on file tags. This can add an extra layer of security, especially in a system with a read-only core.

Tagging a file

setfattr -n user.tag -v "security-critical" /apps/application1

Viewing tags

getfattr -n user.tag /apps/application1

Searching for files with a specific tag (example using a script)

find /apps -type f -exec getfattr -n user.tag {} + grep -B1 "security-critical"

Explanation of Directory Structure

/ -- apps # Global directory for application installation -- system # Core Linux System (on its own partition) -- bin # System binaries -- boot # Boot loader files -- lib # Essential shared libraries and kernel modules -- etc # System-wide configuration files -- include # Header files for C and C++ -- sbin # System binaries for administration tasks -- lib64 # 64-bit shared libraries -- var # Variable data files -- log # Log files -- spool # Spool directories for tasks like mail and printing -- cache # Cache data -- lib # Variable state information -- tmp # Temporary files (linked to /temp) -- run # Run-time variable data -- dev # Device files -- proc # Virtual filesystem providing process and kernel -- sysfs # Virtual filesystem providing system and hardware -- mnt # Mount points -- home # User directories -- username # Specific user directory -- Applications # Local directory for application installation -- Documents # Stores user documents -- Desktop # User desktop files -- Downloads # User downloads -- Music # User music files -- Pictures # User pictures -- Videos # User videos -- net # Network services (e.g., web servers) 

Linux Distributions that Employ Some of These Concepts

• Fedora Silverblue
• Fedora CoreOS
• NixOS
• openSUSE MicroOS
• Clear Linux
• Ubuntu Core
• Endless OS

Conclusion

The proposed directory structure introduces a clear, logical separation of system files, user data, and applications, enhancing security, maintainability, and clarity. By leveraging a stateless design principle for the `/system` directory, it ensures system stability and reliability, making it a robust and modern alternative to the traditional Linux Filesystem Hierarchy Standard.

I recently changed jobs working at a company based in Dubai on a Dubai visa. I will continue to work in Dubai with this new company, however I found out after signing all the paperwork and getting ready to process my new visa that it will be a Sharjah visa.
I understand it really doesn't affect my day to day much as I already have my rental apartment and such done and i'll be fine legally speaking. However, I am planning to sponsor my wife once the visa is completed but she will be overstaying by a few days (as mentioned by Amer that's fine if I am ok with paying the overstay fines)
My question is that if it's a Sharjah Visa, then do the rules change in terms of the overstaying and being able to sponsor? How does a Sharjah visa affect me and my wife from a visa perspective, and I will probably have to go to Sharjah to change the car license plates + to get a driver's license can it be done in Dubai?

Driving off of 75 north and exiting Hall st towards the Starbucks. As I'm sitting at the light, I hear honking from two cars behind me. I see the car behind me start to wiggle so as to let what appears to be a car behind it trying to pass it on the side(1-lane road). I'm in a merge only lane, so I continue onward and turn right at the light. I notice now, that this car has passed the car behind me and is now directly behind me. He's still honking. I'm thinking this guy is experiencing an emergency or who knows what, so I get into the turn only lane to let him pass. I guess he took this as me trying to puff my chest, so he proceeds to roll up next to me, window already down with the barrel of the gun directly pointed at us. As soon as I noticed I ducked and floored the gas. In the moment I knew in my peripheral that no car was coming out of Starbucks so I knew I could direct the car into the lot whilst my head down for a second or two.
Unfortunately you cannot see any gun or license plate in the footage. Even worse, audio wasn't saved either. But you'd probably hear our screams of horror. We are definitely shooken up and on high alert... Kind of traumatizing when you're looking down the barrel of a gun.
Y'all just be careful and be paying attention. I have no idea what prompted this. No road rage or break checking. It felt like an assassination attempt how quick the gun was drawn and pointed at us with a pre rolled down window.
It happens at the 3:15 mark. The only thing I could have done to anger someone was let the 18wheeler over I guess lol.
TLDW/R: Be aware of your surroundings.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with what a biogas plant is, how it works or what they're actually used for allow me to educate you. A biogas plant produces natural gas, or rather a substitute for natural gas, from fermented corn silage as well as other agricultural waste products. Farmers, such as myself, would bring in silage which we would unload into a large concrete bunker silo, basically just a big walled in pit. The plant I delivered to used a modified snowcat to push the silage around and pack it down evenly in the pit. Once one pit filled up they would tarp it and leave it to ferment and move on to the next pit. Once a pit was fully fermented they would uncover it and use a large wheel loader to shovel the fermented silage into what's called an anaerobic digester. It's basically just a big tank with an agitator that you fill up with a bunch of organic matter and heat it up which produces methane gas as the microorganisms inside begin to break everything down. This gas is then captured and can be used for basically everything natural gas is used for already but it's supposed to be better for the environment or something. These plants are way more common in Europe but they have started to pop up here in North America as well. And yes, before you ask, these places smell worse than you could possibly imagine.
I always thought it was a little bit weird that they built one way up here in Northern Alberta but since the large dairy farm I worked at pretty much always had an excess of corn silage every year, we certainly welcomed another place to sell it to especially since they're not picky. Trying to sell to another dairy farmer is always a hassle because they're always concerned with the quality, as they should be if they're feeding it to their cows, but the biogas plant basically just needs organic matter, it doesn't really matter what it is. If it can decompose you can make gas out of it.
Last fall we had an exceptionally good corn harvest to the point where we still had 4 more fields still to harvest by the time we had enough to feed the cows for the next year. As I said this isn't uncommon. When you're harvesting corn for silage you use a totally different harvester. Rather than a combine that separates out the actual corn kernels from the rest of the plant you use a forage harvester which is essentially a giant woodchipper on wheels that takes in the whole crop and shreds it up. Since corn can easily grow 10 feet high and you spread that over a few thousand acres you get a crazy high volume of silage coming in. Upon realizing how much excess we had my boss did what he always did and called up the plant who as always agreed to take in what we didn't need. The next morning rather than trucking back to the farm we were instructed to head straight over to the plant once our trailers had filled up.
I arrived with my first load at the plant around 10 am. A man wearing a high vis jacket directed me onto the large scale they used to weigh the trucks coming in and out. "Good harvest this year Jim?" The friendly old lady in the scalehouse said as she took down the weight of my loaded truck. I felt bad as I had been delivering to this plant on and off for the last 8 years I had worked on Mr. Baker's dairy farm but I couldn't remember, or I'd just never learned her name. Oh well, I certainly wasn't going to out myself now. "Well if we're delivering here you know it's a good one," I replied. "And there's plenty more where this came from." "Glad to hear it!" She smiled back at me handing me my paperwork. "Now you just head right on down to the back there and the boys will show you where to dump" "Thank you," I said taking the papers from her and putting my truck back into gear.
I pulled off the scale and made my way to the back of the plant where the big concrete pits are. Some more men in high vis gear directed me to back into a specific one. The giant pit was only about half full at the this point but the mountain of silage in my rear view mirrors still looked to be about 30 feet deep at its highest point. As usual they had me back up until my trailer started to climb the pile a bit. this way there were no gaps in the pile and the snowcat wouldn't have to do as much pushing. As I watched the back wheels of my trailer roll on to the silage pile in my mirrors I heard the unmistakable sound of a tire blowing out. A loud pop and then a slow hiss that quickly dissipated. "Shit!" I thought to myself as I hopped out to inspect the damage. One of the workers had also come to see what had happened.
"Must be one of your inside tires" he said to me as I approached, "all the outside ones look fine." I bent down and looked under the truck, sure enough he was right. The inside tire on the right side of the rear axle was completely flat. "Well I suppose that's why semi trucks have dual wheels," I said trying to sound unfazed while simultaneously preparing myself for the ass chewing I was bound to receive for this later. I walked around to the back of the truck to inspect the damage further and saw what had punctured my tire. I stumbled back a bit as I realized it was what appeared to be a broken bone sticking out of the tire. "What the..." I said mostly to myself but the worker must've heard too as it caused him to look down at it as well. When he did his face went white for a second then he composed himself. "Well I'll be damned," he said, "I've been here since the plant opened and I ain't never seen that before, some uh, poor animal must've gone through the forage harvester, or uh, some farmer's dog must've dug it up and dropped it in their silo." He seemed real shifty as he said this and almost seemed like he was trying to convince himself of what he was saying but I brushed it off as I figured he was probably just as shocked as I was.
While I was still able to unload I did have to leave the truck and trailer at the plant that night. A mobile tire repair service would be out in the morning to get it all fixed up. I got a ride back to the farm with our next truck to arrive at the plant and finished out the day pressure washing the manure spreaders. No doubt a reward for my efforts that day. I had to take a good long shower at the farm office before getting in my truck to head home for the night. As I started the engine I went to pull my phone out of my pocket to plug it in to the charger and realized that I didn't have it. I padded all my other pockets, nope definitely not there. I then realized that I had likely left it in the semi which was now at the plant, probably locked behind a gate for the night. Logically I could have just waited till morning to go and retrieve it. I was probably just going to go straight to bed when I got home anyway so what did I need my phone for? But because humans now have separation anxiety from their phones burned into them at age 3 I found myself pulling out on to the road in the direction of the plant rather than home. I hoped there would be some friendly night security guard that would let me in to grab it and I'd be on my way in 5 minutes.
I reached the plant just as it was getting dark and indeed there was a security guard standing at the gate as I pulled up. A very heavily armed security guard. He had what looked like a military rifle slung over his back and I wondered what on earth he needed that for. They were very illegal for civilians to own here in the great white north so they must've had a damn good reason to arm their security like this for the government to let them do it. He looked rather intimidating but surprisingly was not at all antagonistic when I rolled down my window. "Are you lost partner?" He said in a rather friendly tone. "No, no, I work for one of the farms that delivers here," I said, "My truck blew a tire on the trailer earlier today and it's still sitting over by pit 3 and I think I left my phone in the cab, do you mind if I go check?" He gave me a suspicious look, then he peered into the pickup bed and generally looked over me and my truck, then he gazed off down the road and looked at his watch. "Alright you got 10 minutes, and try and stay out of the night shift's way" he said in a much less friendly tone.
A loud click and then a buzzing sound came from the gate as it began to move and I drove through it. By now it was almost completely dark but the large spotlights of the plant made it easy to navigate. I came around the corner and saw my truck still sitting across from pit 3 and I pulled up in front of it. As I got out I noticed that there was a large excavator up on top of the pile in pit 4. I knew it was digging into the silage but I couldn't really see what it was doing properly because the concrete wall that separated pits 3 and 4 partially obscured it. I could also see the roof of the snowcat peeking up over the wall. It must've been parked a little ways away on top of the pile and I figured it must've gotten stuck and they were using the excavator to try and get it out. I paid it little attention as I entered the cab of the semi truck and quickly found my phone in the cupholder. I grabbed it and just as I was climbing down a voice called out to me.
"Hey who the fuck are you?? And what are you doing here???" A disgruntled looking worker wearing the same high vis gear was running towards me. "I just left my phone in this truck here, the security guard let me in to grab it" I stammered backing up towards my pickup. "Of course he fucking did" the man grumbled and he snatched his radio out of his jacket pocket. "Peter what the hell did you let this dumbass in here for you can't be doing that!" He shouted into the radio. "Relax they're not even here yet" the guard's voice crackled through the radio. "Umm actually I see headlights if he's got his phone tell him to get out of there." The man looked back to me. "You heard him son get lost and don't come back here after delivery hours again you got it?" I nodded and climbed back into my pickup truck and began to drive back towards the gate. As I exited the guard waved to me from behind the big black GMC Yukon that had pulled up to the gate. He appeared to be talking to the driver. There was a large U-Haul truck behind it followed by another black Yukon. As I passed the last vehicle I noticed in my rear view mirror the 3 trucks enter the plant ad the guard shutting the gate behind them.
That whole situation did not sit right with me. On the drive home I contemplated everything that I had seen and heard from the guard and the other worker. They were up to something in that plant at night that maybe even the bosses didn't know about. My best guess was it was some kind of drug operation. If movies have taught me anything drug kingpins always drive black SUVs. I know I should have left it alone but life up here in Northern Alberta was so boring my curiosity ended up getting the better of me. I thought that I could help bring down some kind of criminal organization and be a local hero, and that worst case scenario nothing was happening and nothing would come of it.
After harvest concluded I had a couple of days off to rest as we'd been working pretty crazy hours lately. I however did not rest. I was trying to find out everything I could about the plant and the people who ran it. I really couldn't find anything about it, in fact it was as if the place didn't exist. You would think there would at least be a news story from when they built the place what with it being the biggest boost to the local economy and job market our town had ever seen and all but there was nothing. Finally I decided the only thing to do was to see if I could observe what those black SUVs and the U-Haul truck were doing in the plant at night. Maybe get some photos of the exchange and hand them off to the police. I did some poking around on Google maps and found an old logging road that ran across the ridge behind the plant. There was a little dirt area where people often parked to unload their ATVs to go riding in the woods up there that was maybe only a kilometre or so from the north side of the plant.
I drove up there just before dark and hiked down through the woods all the way to the north fence of the plant. It was just a chain link fence like you'd see around a schoolyard not a barbed wire prison fence or anything so I made quick work of climbing over it. Luckily for me there was a lot of equipment and old dumpsters and shipping containers in this part of the plant for me to hide behind as I made my way towards where the main gate was. I crouched down behind one of their company trucks parked near the gate and waited about 20 minute before I saw the black SUVs pull up. This time though they didn't have a U-Haul they had a much larger yellow Penske box truck. They must be hauling some serious product to be renting that thing. I watched as the trucks rolled through the gate and much like they had done with me a few days prior the plant workers in high vis gear directed them back towards the pits.
I began to sneak my way over there being careful to stay out of sight. I realized very quickly that I wouldn't be able to get very close while still remaining hidden. The area around the pits was largely wide open to allow to turn around and back in so there was nothing to conceal me as I approached. I noticed the office nearby and had an idea. I snuck over to it and tried the door. It was open but the lights were off inside. Luckily no alarms went off and I found what I came for quickly. A high vis uniform and a white hard hat laying on the break room table. I also grabbed some safety glasses and a dust mask as it wasn't uncommon for the workers to wear them, there was a lot of dust around the pits, and I figured it would help conceal my identity.
After putting on the uniform and sneaking back outside I observed the workers for a few minutes to see what they were doing and how best to blend in. Most of them appeared to either be standing around watching the trucks pull up or walking somewhere so I figured just walking like I was on a mission was good enough. Turns out I didn't need to fake it for long. As I neared the yellow Penske truck I saw some men getting out of the black SUVs. They were dressed in what looked like church robes but definitely not Catholic since they didn't have the collar. One of them turned to me and I froze. "Hey buddy, we got a pretty big load tonight, mind giving us a hand?" Realizing my cover was working I decided to play along and just leave the part about me helping the drug lords out of my statement to the police. I nodded and walked over with the other workers and awaited instructions.
I heard the sound of a diesel engine coming closer and looked over to see the excavator I had seen coming around the corner and begin to climb the silage pile in pit 4 again. The snowcat was behind it but instead of following the excavator up the pile it came towards us. It had some kind of large metal box attached to the blade that was about the size of a small car. The operator set the box down next to the Penske truck and hopped out. The same disgruntled man I had encountered the other night got out of the cab. "Jesus man, that's a big truck you got there, probably gonna take a couple trips to unload this thing," he said to the men in robes. One of them opened up the back of the box truck and where I expected to see a giant pile of cocaine bricks or something there was something I never expected.
Bodies, and lots of them just thrown haphazardly into the back of this truck. I had to fight the urge to fill my dust mask with vomit as I saw them. The workers began loading them into the box on the blade of the snowcat just tossing them on with little regard for how they landed. No one seemed to notice me just standing there so I slowly backed up into the shadows and made my way over to pit 3. It was almost full by now so I climbed up the pile to a spot where I could look over the concrete wall into pit 4 where the excavator was without being spotted. Once up there I saw the snowcat climbing up the pile towards a large hole the excavator had dug in it. There were some more workers up there who began throwing the bodies off into the hole as one of the men in robes climbed out of the passenger seat in the snowcat. He just stood on the track watching as the bodies were piled into this impromptu mass grave they had constructed. He stayed up on the pile while the snowcat went down for the second load.
This was all starting to make sense now. This was the perfect cover for disposing of bodies. They would get broken down in the piles same as everything else and because they were constantly being emptied into the digester the evidence would only be around for a few months, and the horrific smell of the plant would conceal any foul odours produced by the dead bodies. But there was one question left. Where were they coming from? This was way too many bodies for this to be the mafia or something killing off problematic individuals. By the time the truck was totally unloaded there must've been 100 dead people in that hole. No this had to be some cult activities of some sort and the robes the men from the black SUVs were wearing backed up that theory. Maybe these were just what was left over from some sort of ritual sacrifice or something? Whoever these people are they must have some kind of deal with the plant's owners because I could tell the workers had done this before. From the time the truck had arrived to the time the excavator started burying the corpses in rotting corn silage it had only taken about half an hour.
I didn't even bother ditching the uniform I got out of that plant as fast as I could. I sprinted up through those woods back towards my truck with my heart beating so fast I thought it would explode. As soon as I was in the truck I locked all the doors and dialed 911 on speaker as I peeled out of the forest. I told the operator everything that had happened over the last couple of days and what I had seen that night. I practically begged them to send someone there right away which the nice lady on the other end of the line promised they would. She asked for my name and contact information so they could get a hold of me for a statement which I gladly gave them. She assured me they would investigate the matter and I thanked her and hung up the phone. I then pulled over and got out of the truck and proceeded to finally let out all the vomit I had been holding in for the last hour or so. I ditched the plant uniform on the side of that old forest road and made my way for home.
As I was approaching my house I saw a car up ahead. As I drew closer I could make out the distinctive reflective tape they put across the back of police cars. I slowed down as I had come up on him pretty fast and I didn't want to get a speeding ticket after all I'd been through that night. I followed the cop a few more kilometres towards town. My house was on this road coming up shortly. As we approached my driveway the cop put his signal on to turn in. I breathed a sigh of relief as I guessed they had sent someone out to check on me and I was about to put my signal on as well when I noticed the black GMC Yukon parked in my driveway and the man in robes standing next to it with a gun. The cop turned in and parked next to him. Given that the cop had basically zero reaction to the man standing there with a weapon my heart sank as I realized whatever this is runs much, muh deeper than I thought and revealing who I was to that 911 dispatcher had just dommed me. I kept on driving praying that neither of them recognized me and thanking the Alberta government for not requiring front license plates that the cop would have totally seen on the drive over otherwise.
I just kept on driving, expecting at any minute to see police lights behind me or a big black SUV blocking the road ahead of me and men in dark robes coming out of the darkness to get me, but nothing happened. I don;t even know how long I drove for I just drove until I had to pee so badly I was forced to stop at a truck stop and realized I was somewhere in Saskatchewan. I've been on the run so to speak now for about 6 months. I don't know if anyone's even following me but I have to be sure. I'm writing this all out to get it off my chest and out there as a warning before I ditch this phone and start my life over in another province as far away from there as I can get. I don't know what's going on up there but there is something very dark happening in northern Alberta and I've probably only scratched the surface of it. Either way I want no part of any of it.

Just gonna bitch a bit, thanks.
Grew up in a deplorable and abusive situation where no adult would help a child out. my parents' abuse ranged from petty neglect to starving us out to physical and sexual abuse. this went on from my earliest memories to teen years. everyone wondered why i was so closed off or why my brother was so angry, but no one would help. i ran off and went homeless since it felt like a step up, but my brother was taken in by my father who spent our whole lives turning a blind eye to what our mother did. he decided that me running off was a wake up call so he divorced my mother and he got my brother all the help he needed and put him through school. i tried reaching out to him and he just said his plate was full making sure my brother was good.
ok
so i spent the next several years getting my shit right. i worked my ass off and got a car, so i went from sleeping in the street to sleeping in a junky car. small wins and all that. years go by and i just drift. i tried enlisting in the navy during this time but was sent home from boot camp due to a back injury that they didn't want to fix. i sold my car before i left since i didn't have anywhere to keep it and i hoped i wouldn't need it anymore, being government property at that point and all. icing on the cake was that the navy lost my box of civilian belongings they were supposed to hold on to. so now i was back to square one. dropped off at the airport in bright navy pt clothing, with no phone, no wallet, no money, just a drivers license since we were allowed to hold onto id's like that.
fuck
once again reach out to my dad and explain my situation. he just calls me a failure. i reach out to my brother who at this point was done with school and working a swanky job and had an apartment with a spare room. he blames it all on me. everything. all of our past abuses and any current struggle of his. i guess it was easier to blame me and have a boogeyman.
so i ran again
i ended up on the other side of the country and was busting my ass again, but i picked up a stride. things were actually going well. my job gave me a couple raises and i got an apartment. i was actually eating more than beans and rice now. i was gaining weight and started exercising and putting on muscle. i made some friends and for the first time in my life felt happy and confident. shit, i even got attention from girls now when we went out. first time i tried having sex with a girl, i had a panic attack and she acted very understanding and held me that night while i just rocked back and forth and cried. i tried so hard to forget what our mother and whoever else she brought over had done to us but i guess its not so easily forgotten by the body and soul. but she told all of my friends and they just pointed and laughed. only one reached out and tried to help. small blessings.
here we go
that friend had actually helped a lot. they got me in contact with a counselor who worked with a local charity and got me sessions for free. the journey to unpack my past was hell. i wont sugar coat it. there was more than i thought i remembered. suppressed shit came flooding back. so much hate and anger and despair filled my life until i just felt numb to it. i became indifferent. then my mother reached out. my brother had my contact info, so he gave it to my dad, who then gave it to my mother. she said she wanted to apologize and that she spoke to her priest and went to counseling yada yada. i was hesitant but heard her out. i thought she was serious. spoiler alert, it was actually about making herself feel better rather than actually apologizing. apparently she was remarrying to a man that i would later find out she was having an affair on my dad with. this man was a hyper-religious catholic and was making her just through hoops of atonement for her infidelity (WITH HIM) and neglect of her children. he didn't know about everything else. when i told her i don't forgive her, her husband went off about how ungrateful i am
open the floodgates
i went off about everything that happened and what she did, what she invited into our home, and what she allowed to be done. it was liberating to be able to go off like that. it was unhinged. her and her new hubby to be just sat silent until i was done. she started yelling that i was a liar and a piece of shit. she went on and on saying all the things a mother should never say to her child. i hung up and broke down. everything was back. that night i tried to end it. i took enough pills that i should have fallen asleep forever. i woke up. i got ready for work.
who am i
things felt distant then. i don't know why but it just felt different. maybe i did actually die and became someone else. i just didn't care at that point. i kept the one friend and still went to counseling but i never said anything about that night. not to anyone. i enrolled into a good program at a local community college. i took out loans. i studied hard. i made some friends but i kept them at a distance. i started going out more. i met a girl. i had sex. i got clingy. we broke up. wash, rinse, repeat a few times until i met this girl in my class. she was international student and i was big into foreign languages and lucky for me her native tongue was what i was learning. we started a friendship and i would practice my language skills on her.
what am i doing
i got offered a gig overseas. it was contingent on graduating but that wasn't long from now. the pay was shit but it seemed like a fun experience. it was in the same country my new friend was from and that was cool. spoiler alert, the job was bullshit and they were just trying to screw with me but that's another story, i never went there for it. so i keep talking to her and we start a relationship. things go smooth and well. she was great. as far as she knows, i have no past and no family. she has to move back to her home country to finish university and i decide to go for my 4 year as well.
moving
so i move to a cheaper area of the country and take out more loans for university. i get into a competitive program. i also start writing again around this time. reading and writing were always my rock growing up and i dreamed of being an author. this girl and i are in a long distance relationship and things were not easy. but fast forward a few more years and i finally finish school. during this time we also got engaged and decided i would move to her country. she had roots there and i didn't so i left.
new life
i get there and i get a good job making a good salary. my life is going over well now. but my mom and dad found my wife on social media. my dad just told her to be careful of me and my mom sent her heaps of messages detailing some fantastic story of me being a demon and the antichrist. my wife confronted me on this and got distant. she threatened divorce but i refused to talk about my past. so she filed but we never executed it. i stayed in a different place to give her space. i didnt want to lose her so i asked to go to marriage counseling. it took a while but she finally agreed. we went and i opened up. she was hesitant to believe me but finally did and we reconciled. however there has been a few times where she has hit me when frustrated or touched me in ways i ask her not to. this wasnt a thing before. i also found out she went out with some friends before we went to counseling and some things dont make quite a lot of sense. she says she just went out with friends but other things suggest she did that but wasnt with her friends the whole time. but nothing 100%. she also had an ex from when she was at college with me. they broke up over LDR when she wanted to date me but we were just friends. i didnt know about this until much later. i found evidence that shortly after she moved back to her home country, he reached out and professed his love for her after she was apparently bragging about her new foreign boyfriend to some of their mutual friends. the evidence suggests that they met up. i never knew about this. it wasnt hidden from me, i just never knew is all.
nose to the grindstone
so i just continued on. i would go to work and bust my ass. i would come home and spend all my time in my home office writing my stories or programming. i had learned some game development and was trying to self publish. eventually i got a game greenlit to go on steam. it was nothing special and all but i was proud of myself. i told my wife who called it a cute hobby and went back to playing with the dog i got her some time ago. definitely left me dejected. so i kept writing. finally, i finished my book. i poured my heart and soul into it. it was an ode to everything i endured and who i was. i cried more than once making it. i kept it quiet and reached out to an agent and some publishers. i go praised for it and everyone said how good it was but no one would publish it. not because of the book though. the agent came back and plainly told me that no one wants to hear my voice right now. i asked him to elaborate. he did. it came down to my race and gender. suggestions were to use a pen name and never be seen next to the book or have someone else from a "preferred demographic" take all the credit and i would get a cut. i said no. it was too ridiculous for me. after everything i did, this is what it came down to. what the fuck.
and so say we all
there is much more to all this but this is already too long and i dont want to get into too much detail or get graphic, so here i am. i have a good job and a good home. i am in my home office. i have the manuscript right here next to me. my wife is in the other room playing with the dog and going out with friends later. i still have those divorce papers in my desk, she doesnt know i still have them. i have no friends, i tried to make some but the guys get standoffish and the girls tend to fetishize my demographic so it never worked. plus if my wife thinks another girl is even looking at me, she gets enraged. people already have their social circles here so adding a foreigner into the mix isnt appealing. i have no family. i am alone while surrounded. i want to die but i dont.
i am tired but no sleep is to be found.

Long story short. Had the same shitty 2002 Taurus for 10 years. First car, made it through high school and college. Worked hard as hell and bought a new to me 2021 Honda Civic last month. Yay! Until….
Sunday night friend of a friend is leaving our tent site and backs into my car and fucks the driver side rear door all up. Significant paint damage and minor denting.
Here’s where it gets goofy. Obviously this my first time having full coverage on a vehicle. I have a manageable deductible, but I just worked so so hard and I’ve had this car for literally 1 month and it’s already trashed.
Tried to be cool about it wlthout ruining the evening for everyone and my girlfriend as it was her birthday. Took pictures of the damages and started a claim on geico app. Told at fault driver that he could just give me his insurance info in the morning (as he was running home to check on animals and coming back out to camp).
Next morning he’s telling me he’s having issues getting his info (yeah prob no insurance I know), but says he is getting it figured out and in the meantime says to just bill him for the damages (not how it works). I say okay and ask for make and model of vehicle and for his license plate number bc I forgot to get a picture of that.
Fast forward to next day , I haven’t fully submitted the claim yet, and notice he has parked his car a ways away behind a barn to be “closer to the camp path”, which mind you was on the opposite site of the property we were on. Just kinda upset about how bad my car looked versus his shitter, I went to inspect his damages again and get pictures in the daylight.
This dude gave me a fake license plate number lol. Like not even close to what he texted me a few hours prior. Pissed off I took pictures of everything again and uploaded it all to geico and asked them to hold this dude 100% responsible.
Now I’m naive and probably should’ve handled it different but there’s no way I could’ve worked out any deal with a dude who is giving me fake information.
My question is why try to hide knowing you’re coming back to the property and leaving your car out in the open??
Assuming insurance will come back and say he’s uncovered and I’ll just have to pay my deductible.
Should I try to get him to pay the full cost of the damages since he agreed to earlier via text or should I just have him pay the deductible portion??
Need advice not sure how mean I should be about it since the dude lied right to my face and then came back to our event.

I live in Houston Texas. To make a long story short, I was sitting in my running car at a mechanic shop and a cop pulled up behind me and had his lights on. When he came to my window, I asked him how his day was and he responded by asking for my ID. I asked him what crime he suspectied me of commiting, he repeated himself and I repeated myself. This went on two more times. He then opened my door and told me to step out, he threatened to tase me and grabbed my wrist and pulled me out leaving the car door open.
He put me in the back of his car and on the way over, he informed me my plates came back stolen.When his two other cop buddies got there, they looked through my car and another officer leaned into his passenger seat and he entered the car again, they discovered the license plate was for a different make and model AND in a different state.
They let me out of the cuffs and that was that. I have his badge number, I called his supervisor and went to the police department and requested the police report, filed a complaint against him and asked for the FOIA Request Form for all body cam footage pertaining to the incident.
I guess my questions are: Is this a lucrative case? What type of lawyer should I get in contact with? Should I get all the evidence and info before contacting a lawyer? We're my civil liberties violated? Is it possible to get a lawyer pro Bono, or does that just depend on the lawyer?
How should I go about this?

I filed for chapter 13 in November of 2023. My plan was confirmed in February 2024. My car had a lien on it through Yendo. We chose to surrender the car. It is now not even running, just sitting in the driveway. Yendo did not file a claim in my case. My attorney told me he can’t force a creditor to collect their property. He told me to scrap the car. I confirmed this with him twice. I tried to scrap it today. The tow truck came to get it, put it up on the truck and the a call from the boss and he was unloading it back in my driveway. He told me they can’t take it because of the lien. He asked if I had a letter of release from the lien holder (which I do not). At this point it can no longer sit in the driveway. It’s not running, it has no license plate on it. We’ve received a letter from the association that it needs to be removed. How do I get rid of this car?

Went to a busy place and waited for a parking spot. One freed up and I had my signal on but another car showed up from the opposite direction and took the spot before I could. I confronted the guys about it and they shrugged it off. What a bunch of assholes.
I have their license plate number and full body shot photos. How can I revenge them without the risk of getting sued?

“Hi, Guys”, Edgar said, in that same nasal tone, waving at us palm open once again.
The tape holding his cheap sunglasses together was orange.
Did you catch that reference. If so, good for you.
Anyway, I assume he wore sunglasses not only trying to make himself look cool, but also to hide the fact that his eyes blinked sideways, remember?
He wore a blue pilot’s uniform, complete with the hat,
“Dude! Are you fucking kidding me?”, Derek said.
“I don’t think so, Dude!”, Corey responded.
“I’m not too sure about this, Bob!”, I said.
“Don’t worry, Boys! He’s been playing a flight simulator game on what he calls his TRS-80 computer, for quite some time now. He’ll be fine.”, Bob replied.
“A Flight Simulator Game?”, we all said shockingly in unison, including Tony.
“Doesn’t he need a Pilot’s license or something?” I asked.
“Boys, Boys, I assure you, that if any complications arise, I will handle the situation! I AM the devil! I can do that! Besides, finding a licensed pilot, and negotiating a deal, would take far too much time! Time… we do not have! So, Edgar is our only option.” Bob said.
We all half heartedly waved back, nervously smiling, “Hi, Edgar!”, we all said in unison once again. Tony just said “Hi!”
Derek, Corey, Ricky, Stephen and I were all taken back by the fact that the “person” that tried to kill us, was apparently the pilot of our new plane, with absolutely no formal training, just a video game, and not even a good one, compared to todays standards.
I knew my bandmates were already dead, but I was pretty sure they didn’t want to die again, now or any other time before, even if they’d all come back to life.
“Come on up, Guys! We’ll be taking off soon!”, Edgar said.
“Boys, up we go!”, Bob said, moving his arm in a presenting fashion toward the stairs.
“Once we enter, put the stairs in their proper place and take the bus back to the house!” Bob said to the old man.
“Yes, Boss!”, he said.
“Wait! My accordion!”, Tony said, as he stepped back onto the bus to get it.
“That was close! I almost forgot it again!, he said.
“Cool, Man! That way you can jam with us!”, I commented
“I’d like that”, Tony said smiling.
Nervously, we all then began the ascend into the plane.
Bob went first, then Derek, then Corey, then Ricky, then Stephen, then me, and last was Tony.
“Who’s Edgar?”, I heard Tony ask from behind me.
If you remember, Tony had never met Edgar before.
“Long story short, Dude!”, I answered, slightly turning around but still walking up the stairs, “He recorded our album, played keyboards on it, put backmasking bullshit on the tapes, turned into a demon, and tried to kill us!”
“Dang!”, is all Tony said.
We reached the top of the stairs.
Bob shook Edgar’s hand, stepping inside.
Edgar then raised his hand to high five each one of us.
We all high fived him, nervously smiling, as we stepped onto the plane as well.
“Hi, Pilot Guy!”, we heard Tony say, stepping onto the plane. “I’m Tony! I’m their bodyguard!”
“Wonderful!”, Edgar replied.
“Have a look around, Guys! I’ll let you know when we’re taking off. I have to contact the tower to get clearance or something, I think. This is my first time ever flying a real plane. I’m kinda nervous.”, he said.
That did not help the situation AT ALL!
“Boys, right this way!”, Bob said, pushing a curtain open that lead into the fuselage, or the main body section of the plane.
“You see Boys! I have taken the liberty of dividing the fuselage into three separate sections. First is what I like to call… your “Hangout” section.
The room was filled with luxurious high-end furniture, tables and chairs.
A huge 85 inch flat screen television hung to your left, on the same wall the curtain was on when you first walked in, with both Atari, and Nintendo NES game systems hooked up to it, with a huge stack of games, for each console, next to them, and a Gothic Victorian style chair sat to the right of the curtain.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Flat screens didn’t come out until 1997! So how did you have one back then!”, and my answer to that would be… I don’t know. But, Bob is the devil, so…
Anyway, There was a fully stocked coffee bar, and a fully stocked beer on tap station, with six of the best beers the 80’s had to offer, as well as a stack of red Solo cups on the left side, and a make your own SUBWAY sub and sandwich station, all on the left side wall, six pinball machines sat vertically along the wall in front of you when you first walked in, with one wooden door in the middle of them.
Large couches sat on the wall to your right. In between them were two vending machines, one was a cigarette vending machine, but the other was something I had never seen before.
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the machine on the right.
“Oh! That is a marijuana vending machine, same design as the cigarette machine, only with joints already rolled, in packs of 20. I created it myself!”, Bob answered.
There were ashtrays on the tables, with lighters on the tables next to each one.
“Everything on this plane is free, Boys! If you run out of something, wait 5 seconds, human time, and what ever you ran out of will automatically fill back up.”, he told us, “Here you can drink, smoke, party, play games, and have a grand ole time.
“Free weed, Dude! We won’t need Randy anymore!”, Derek said to Corey.
“Yeah! No more Randy!”, Corey replied, laughing.
“Beyond that door there, is the second section, what I like to call… your sleeping/entertainment section.”, Bob said, “Here, let me show you, Boys!”
Tony laid his accordion on the couch on the right.
We all then walked over to the door, and Bob opened it.
Inside was a long hallway that stretched the entire length of the room, with another wooden door at the end.
There were 3 wooden doors on each side, a small nameplate was positioned at eye level, on the right side of each door, with the name of each one of us, on each plate, so six small rooms occupied this space
“Here you can sleep, in your own room, Boys! or “entertain” the ladies!”
“We don’t need to sleep!”, Derek said.
“Well, four of you don’t, one of you doesn’t have to sleep if he doesn’t want to, only one of you has to sleep, and if he doesn’t want to, I’m sure Mr. Hard-Sell here could help him out with that. It’s mostly for entertainment purposes.”, Bob said.
“Huh?”, Tony said.
“Girls!”, Corey responded, moving his hands in a curving fashion, up and down, “You know… Girls!” He emphasized the word girls when he said it the last time.
“Oh! I like girls! They’re pretty!”, Tony said.
“Anyway, each room is equipped with a bunk style bed. After all, that is all you will need.”
“What’s behind that door?”, Stephen asked, pointing to the door at the end of the hallway.
We all then began walking down the hallway to the door.
Bob then opened it.
Just like in the room that should have been the bathroom in the house, this room had what?
That’s right!… Our Gear!
Well, not OUR gear, but new gear.
A brand new Yamaha Drum kit, as well as a brand new set of Warmie Promark LA Special drum sticks, just like Bobby Blotzer from RATT used, sat in front of 5 Marshall stacks which sat against the far wall.
The drums were designed with flames, with the band name printed on the bass drum, written in flames as well.
They were obviously for Stephen.
That wall had no door this time, but there was a little room, maybe 3x3, that sat on the left side of the stacks and the drum kit. Bob said that was the bathroom, or lavatory, as he put it.
Anyway, There were 3 ESP guitars, with straps, on stands, just like George Lynch from Dokken played, to the right of the drums. Bob said those were mine. One had flames, one had a coffee cup design, and the other was leopard print.
There were 3 Les Paul Standards, also with straps, on stands, just like Kirk Hammett played, next to mine on the right, those were Ricky’s. One had a broken glass design, one was white with some kind of Japanese insignia, and one had the label of a Budweiser bottle on it.
There were 3 Ibanez Thunderbird Basses, again with straps, on stands, just like Nikki Sixx from… if you don’t know what band Nikki Sixx plays with, you’re probably too young to appreciate this story.
Anyway, they were to the left of the drums, the basses had no designs, they were black, red, and dark blue. Those were obviously Derek’s.
There were 4 Shure Cardioid Condensed Microphones, just like Lenny Kilister from Motörhead used, sitting in front of the drums. One of those were Corey’s and the rest were for Derek, Ricky, and I to use for backing vocals.
A brand new MRX Analog Chorus pedal, just like Eddie Ojeda from Twisted Sister used, sat in front of each set of guitars.
All the plug-ins were neatly piled in front of each instrument.
There was no keyboard, like Edgar played on the album, which was odd to me.
”You see, Boys! As your manager, i have been offered very lucrative endorsement contracts from each of these fine companies, on your behalf of course. When we get back from the tour, I will present the contracts to you for your signing.
All the companies have agreed to let you try out their products first, before making any decisions!”
Derek yelled out, “EVERYBODY!”,
The rest of us screamed, “ROCK AND ROLL!”, and began celebrating, and high-fiving each other, including Tony.
“Also, I contacted a sandwich company called, SUBWAY, and offered you, Tony, as being their official spokesperson. They said that your size would not be a very good image for their company, but after agreeing to supply the CEO with a lifetime supply of Kit Kat candy bars, She agreed.
Your contract is very lucrative as well.
Now, Boys! We’ll be taking off soon. Let’s head back to the front, shall we?”, Bob said.
We all began walking back, Bob closing each door behind us.
We arrived back at the “Hangout” section, and began indulging in all the incentives.
Do I really have to tell you who went where, you get the idea, Right?
Anyway, after getting our incentives and taking a seat at the table, we all began talking, as Bob stood in front of the TV.
In midst of conversation, we heard, “Daddy, Where are you!”, a soft woman’s voice said from behind the curtain.
We all stopped talking and looked in that direction.
The curtain slowly began to open, revealing a long red haired woman standing there seductively.
She had bright green eyes, pouty lips, and was very well endowed.
She wore a skin tight, low cut stewardesses top, with a low cut skirt, and what appeared to be 6 inch stiletto heels on her feet.
Her left leg was positioned in front of her right leg, with her knee bent, with only the toes of her heels touching the floor.
She was holding the curtain open with both hands, and leaning in toward the room, with her head tilted to the side.
She looked like a Rock Goddess.
“Ah! There you are!”, Bob said to her, “Right on time!”
“Boys! I’d like you to meet Rebecca. She will be your stewardess for todays flight, and every flight there after.
If you need anything, outside of these incentives, food and beverage wise, Rebecca will go to the kitchen area, which is right behind that curtain, and prepare it for you.
A steak, a hamburger, a glass of soda, or a cup of tea.
The kitchen area, as well as the Cockpit, which lies just beyond the kitchen, are both off limits to all of you.
“I don’t drink tea! I’m still mad at the British!”, Tony said.
I snickered.
The rest of the guys, including Bob, just looked at him funny.
If you don’t get it, you probably never will.
Anyway, Bob then continued, “Rebecca will also be your nurse, she has a totally different outfit for that, just in case any, accidents may occur.
Say Hi, Rebecca”, Bob said.
“Hi, Boys!”, she said seductively.
Bob then looked at her hard faced, then turned back to us.
“Like I said, Boys! Everything on this plane is free, except for her, not even for a price. Do you understand?”
Before we could answered, we all heard Rebecca say seductively, “Aw, Daddy! But they’re so cute!”
“ENOUGH!”, Bob bellowed at her, “Go tell Edgar we’re ready!”
“Yes, Daddy!”, she said saddened, and slowly turned to go back through the curtain.
“Dude! That’s the Devils Daughter! We’ve heard songs about her.”, Derek said, laughing.
Bob looked at Derek more intensely then he looked at Rebecca.
“I’m just kidding, Man! We ain’t heard shit. Right, Core?”, Derek said nervously.
“Yeah, Man! Nothing!”, Corey said, shaking his head.
Everyone else had their eyes fixated on Bob.
I, however, couldn’t take my eyes off of Rebecca.
Not because she was incredibly gorgeous, even though she really wasn’t my type.
No!
It was because something didn’t seem right to me. Something that told me, she was different than your average sexy, voluptuous, naughty stewardess.
And my assessment was correct.
When she fully turned around, to go back behind the curtain, I saw what the difference was.
She had a tail.
It was waving excitedly behind her.

So if we want to redo savetf2 we need to think about our options and how likely they are to succeed Here are some options I can think of: (note: the chances are relative to if they do anything at all beyond another tweet) Fix the anticheat: Valve is really bad at making anticheats. Even CS2 still has a cheating problem. Unless Valve hires a dedicated anticheat developer for this, this will likely fail. Mitigate the bot crisis: There may be ways to mitigate specifically bots rather than cheating in general. Might succeed. Port TF2 to Source 2 / Make a sequel: Massive undertaking, would require a lot of devs to be willing to work on this. Especially while Deadlock is in development, this will most likely fail. Make a new content update: Not a massive undertaking, likely will require a few extra devs to jump over, could use community resources to reduce resources needed, devs (specifically Eric) might be nervous to mess with the balancing. Improbable but not necessarily that unlikely Hand over TF2 to the community/Complete the mod license: Supposedly being worked on, might be expedited with savetf2 v3. May succeed Fix competitive/matchmaking: Considering how MyM went and the lack of real fixes beyond the cooldown being removed from casual, I can't be sure which way this will go Return F2P chat: Valve may be concerned about more bots than ever spamming bigoted stuff, although they might restore voice lines at least.
If there are any other options please lmk so I can add them to the list

i play hd2 on ps5 and saw that there’s an update. i have enough space on my console and my wifi is working… but every time i try to update it, i get a pop up saying “something went wrong”
i tried restoring my licenses but that didn’t work. anyone know how to fix this or have any subreddits i could crosspost this to? or is this an issue with hd2 itself? it’s been extremely buggy on ps5 lately, at least for me.

This is half vent and half request for advice, tldr is I’ve had practically no training to be be a supervisor, and yet I’ve managed to do well enough to get promoted, what would yall say are the most important things of being a supervisor?? Any advice??
I’m at a licensed store on a college campus, technically all my employment stuff is through the catering company that does all the food stuff at the school (if you’ve been to any public college in America you know what company I’m talking about), but we still gotta run stuff like a Starbucks. Bc it’s a college town the turnover is insane, so it’s really easy to get promoted if you stick around and do just a touch more than the bare minimum. I will say I do try to work very hard to keep things running smoothly, but after 3 years I’ve very quickly been promoted from barista to shift lead and now to supervisor.
Thing is? Nobody gets any fucking training here. As a barista our old manager taught us so many drink recipes incorrectly that I’m still realizing I’ve been making stuff wrong. Luckily we got a new boss who used to work at a corporate Starbucks, but she has so much on her plate from how poorly this company is run that she barely has time to help fix our mess.
As a shift lead I essentially had to learn through fucking up and occasionally getting to ask other shift leads questions. Luckily I was able to kind of scrabble together what shift lead duties are and how to do them (this subreddit has actually been a huge help), but I cannot expressed enough the only training I got was occasionally sharing part of my shift with another lead and asking as many questions as possible.
It’s been the exact same with my promotion to supervisor! Plus they completely switched me from being an opening shift lead to a closing supervisor!! I’ve managed to cobble shit together but I’m so anxious every time I go to work bc I don’t know the correct ways to deal with problems, and my poor baristas keep asking me questions I don’t know the answers to! I don’t know how to handle aggro customers (I often just call over the building security since we’re in a college building), I don’t know how to clean the cold brew dispenser (luckily morning leads do it but still! I should know this and I don’t have anyone to teach me!), I just learned recently that I’m supposed to be the only one doing refunds but I already taught everyone else on my shift bc I didn’t know that was forbidden knowledge!!!
Sorry this has gotten so long, I just feel like I’m going insane because I keep asking my manager for any training modules or maybe even a training day but she says I’m “all trained up!” and that I must know what I’m doing bc I’ve done so well so far?? Idk, I want to learn and take care of the people that work here but idk what I’m doing.
Any advice from any ssvs here? From baristas, what do yall feel is most important for a supervisor to be doing? Anyone want to kidnap me and take me to a store where people get training appropriately? Only half kidding

Some background, my car failed inspection due to exhaust issues. My mechanic said that my catalytic converter system needs to be replaced and can be between $2-3k to fix it. My dilemma is that my sister said that when she buys a new car I could have her old one. But that could be anywhere from a month to a couple years to her getting a new one.
How long can I drive with a red failed inspection sticker until fines become larger than the repair cost or the tickets become something more serious like a court appearance/imprisonment. I already got a ticket for the inspection sticker during a random police inspection checkpoint in South Plainfield (I didn’t know that was a thing). If I get three more $140 tickets for it I feel like I would be fine financially. I just don’t want to go to court or be imprisoned. Has anyone racked up few failed inspection tickets like these before.
If any one’s wondering I have 2006 Honda Civic, that has codes P0420, P0171, P0441, P0455, and P0456. Also I don’t think going to one of those shady shops that give fake stickers is an option, I heard police license plate readers negates that and the ticket for that is more serious.

So this is a doozy. I got two seperate tickets from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority for not paying tolls. Here is why this is odd:

1. I was out of the country on the dates of both tickets
2. I have never been to new jersey
3. I have never had the license plates shown in both tickets
4. The license plate is the same for two different cars
5. I have never owned either of the cars in the tickets

The tickets came via the EZ-Pass New Jersey Customer Center.
Is this some sort of scam? How would they even have my address? If this is legit, how do I go about disputing it? Do I just mail back the form with an explanation?
​

I'm a 47 year old divorced single mother of one. My son is 22 years old and still lives with me. We currently live in my parent's basement apartment. I have one sister who is 41. She has been living with my parents for several years now. My sister has never been married and has no children. My relationship with my sister is horrible. I try to avoid speaking to her or even being in the same space with her, but since we live in the same home we cross paths sometimes. She fills my mother's head with all kinds of negative things about me, mostly untrue or greatly embellished. My sister has told me on more than one occasion that she resents me for having been married and having had a child because she didn't get to experience those things. I can understand that to an extent, however my ex-husband was physically abusive and constantly cheated on me and this is something that my whole family knows very well. One of my sister's favorite things to do is create a fake profile and try to troll mine or my son's social media. We have her actual profile blocked from our Facebook and Instagram pages, so what does she do? She creates a fake profile or has one of her "friends" try and stalk our social media in order to try and find out what is going on in our lives.
As teenagers my sister and I were never allowed to have guys over to our home, and especially not for overnight visits. I have always felt that this was a really antiquated way of thinking, but it was my parent's rules and I lived under their roof so I didn't argue. I mention this because my son has a girlfriend who he has now been dating close to a year. She is very sweet and seems to have a good head on her shoulders. I have really grown quite fond of her, and I allow her to visit my son at our house because they aren't teenagers anymore. When my sister sees his girlfriend's car parked in front of our home, she goes outside and takes several pictures of her car and her license plate and then sends me a text message that says "We aren't stupid, she shouldn't be over here. That's mom and dad's rules." And then she immediately informs my mother about the situation which causes a shit show. I spoke with my mother about this and told her that I thought that this rule was a little silly for a 22 yr old man. My mother became angry and started talking about how my sister informed her that his girlfriend had practically moved into the basement and that he wasn't going to be shacking up down there and that he was a deadbeat. First of all, I live down there as well and I definitely would have noticed if his gf had moved in and she most certainly has not. She still lives at home with her parents. Secondly, I never would have dreamed that my mother would ever refer to my child as a deadbeat.
So now we come to the icing on the cake. Yesterday my mother was showing me something on her cell phone that she wanted me to order for her. She handed me her phone and told me that she would be right back. I decided to take a glance at the texts that my sister had sent her while I had the opportunity to do so. The last message that my sister had sent was on 4-1-24. It was a social media post from either my son or his gf announcing that they are having a baby. I had absolutely no idea and was shocked to find out this way. My sister and my mother have known that I'm going to be a grandmother for almost 2 months and I had no freaking clue! My sister had apparently trolled either his or her social media and obtained this information and then forwarded it to my mother. My mother has said not one word to me. I immediately contacted my son to verify this and he said they were waiting until she got a little further along to tell me. I feel such anger towards my mother and sister. I feel betrayed by them, and I feel like they are against me in life. I used to have a wonderful relationship with my mother and now I am so angry and confused as to why she is acting like this. I am currently in the process of trying to find my own place again and get away from this toxicity. I was just looking for any advice or thoughts on how to handle this with my mother.

To explain my situation- I have been a full time real estate broker for about 6 months now. When I first got my license and began business, I knew it would be a slow process. I wasn't concerned about the money as I had savings and had at least a little bit business going, so I was okay. I would spend all of my free / down time prospecting new clients to get more listings. The holidays and winter came around and slow season began, giving me LOTS of free time leading me to drive myself into a wall. I was starting to become really depressed and stagnant, staying in my home office all the time. I decided I wanted to get a part time job, for the sole purpose of getting out of my house and being able to talk to people. I worked a lot in retail and management in my teens, so I got a part time assistant manager job at a popular alternative clothing store chain at my local mall. This was a huge win, as I have always loved alternative fashion, that particular store, and talking to people really helps my mental health. Plus I would be getting paid! I applied as an associate, but when I saw they were offering a part time assistant manager spot, I applied for that as well. I explained my availability and why I wanted the job during my interview- I know it's not a good look to explain I want the job basically "for fun", but I made it clear I could not get too involved due to my career, as I wanted to be transparent and didn't want them to hire someone who didn't truly fit what they were looking for. It went great for about two weeks, then came the "can you come early?" "do you want to work this day?" "can you stay late?" etc etc... which I know is typical retail. I would help out when I was able to, but it almost immediately came to a point where I was expected to skip my breaks, work open to close, come early/stay late, etc. On top of this issue, there is the hostility in the environment. There are 2 other PT assistant managers besides me, then the store manager. There has been extreme tensions rotating between the other assistants, between them and the store manager, etc. Apparently now the other 2 have shifted it towards me as they think I'm siding with the store manager, as I told them I didn't want to be involved when they encouraged me to talk badly about the manager to a new associate. Also, there was an incident at work where the manager was punched by a customer, and I had to break up a physical fight between that customer and another. So yeah, a shit show.
I have been there for roughly 2-3 months now. Within the last 2 weeks, I've had a serious talk with the store manager (I've tried to assert my boundaries before but I don't think they were taken seriously). I basically told her I need a reduction in hours, as I no longer have barely any availability for my caree clients, or I would have to leave the job. She understood and said one of the other 2 assistants wants more hours so it would work out.
The day after that, the store manager ended up taking a week of PTO due to a tragedy in her family. With the store manager gone, the other 2 assistants have been taking the opportunity without supervision to do whatever they like, and to take out the feelings they have about me on me. I left my shift yesterday crying after how they acted towards me.
I don't have it in me to go back in that place after everything, honestly. I have no desire to go in for my shift there tomorrow, just to experience what feels like high school bullying. I have no desire to piss away any more of my time for this. My problem lies here; I don't want to put this on the manager's plate while she is out dealing with a family tragedy, but I also see this as the opportunity to make the other 2 assistants deal with it for week by themselves. I'm conflicted if I should tough it out and give a notice, and just suck it up- which would leave me unable to work with my clients for 2 weeks (and at this point, my business is rolling and busy). Part of me says the store manager will understand, but I really don't want her or the district managers to be burdened, as they've always treated me well. I don't want the ones who treated me well to be burdened by me abruptly leaving, but I literally do not have it in me to ever go back there. Am I a horrible person if I call the district manager today and tell them I'm never coming back?
TLDR- extremely shitty work environment at my PT job that's taking my time away from my career, when I explained in my interview I had a career. I want to leave without notice but don't want to burden the manager who's treated me well. Advice needed.

My boyfriend and I live in a small neighborhood, where there are a lot of cars parked on the street. My boyfriend's car has a flat tire, so he's been driving mine and keeping his car parked in front of our house (our driveway can only fit 1 car). My neighbor's mailbox is right next to ours, and when my boyfriend got home one day, the neighbor started screaming at him that he's not getting his mail because my boyfriend's "piece of s*** car" is too close to their mailbox. Mind you, he's been parking in that same spot since we moved in 8 months ago, and it's never been an issue, also, we've been getting our mail. My boyfriend apologized and said he'd move his car, but the neighbor went on to say that he's tired of my boyfriend drinking in his car. My boyfriend has been sober for 4 years, which he told the neighbor, to which he just grumbled something about moving his car.
I'd also like to add that the neighbor has a car in their driveway whose license plate registration hasn't been renewed since January 2022, and has spider webs all over it, so calling my boyfriend's car a "piece of s***" was a really bold move. They also keep their trash in between our houses and never seem to take it to the curb for trash pickup, so there's just mounds of trash in between our houses (we keep our trash cans in our garage because there are wild animals that like to go through the trash and make a mess).
These neighbors have also asked me (nicely) if my boyfriend was special needs because he shakes a lot, which I told them he has a tremor due to the many concussions he received in sports during high school.
I just don't like how rude they're being. If they would have just talked to me or my boyfriend about their concerns, I wouldn't have any issues about any of this, but the fact that they had to yell at him has us very upset. Has anyone had something similar happen?
I really would like to keep the peace here, they haven't ever been mean like this before, but I'm honestly scared to talk to them now

Does anybody know how I can avoid the EasyPass charge for a rental car? I hoped I could purchase an EasyPass and just attach it to the windshield, but I was told that the Rental Agency's EasyPass would be associated/registered with the license plate (even if it's shielded) and that it wouldn't use mine.