Im driving old deadbeat car with mileage efficiency around 28-30 mpg (already paid off).
I calculated at current around $5.60 per gallon, my round trip from Mountain View to San Mateo is around $7-8
Now let’s do public transit.
Caltrain daily parking $5.50 (too far on foot and feels too dangerous commute on bike from where I live)
Caltrain ride (round trip, pay per use on single ride) $10 (est)
SamTrans (round trip) $4.20
That’s close to $20 😡
bonus demerit point: return bus from work that only goes once every hour, drop you 6 minutes after my “bullet” express train leaves, to avoid extra delay on bus being late and missing express train, so I need to take Ubelyft to get on time which is $8 one way (before tip).
Sure there is also maintenance cost, wear and tear on the car but wanted to point out how absurd it.
Note: I know some are lucky to get from their employers free Caltrain Pass, and if they have good last mile they can use bike or scooter to avoid paying for parking and rely on shuttles.

Hello. I'm very scared. I am a Virgin and I don't know how any of these works. The basics yes. For starters. I weigh more than my height. Well overweight, not morbidly obese.(I gained like 10 kilos/ 22lbs in 3 months.) My period stopped since this January because of my weight gain and as of now since May 1(I started cutting on my food days before that)I lost 3 kilos. This happened in a week. I'm still loosing.
My boyfriend came in my face I licked some of it on my fingers. He then proceeded to finger me. And this happened on the 8th of April. No penetration at all. And on the 29th of April I started feeling symptoms. Because I am a nervous heck I started searching up my symptoms a week after we done it cuz I kinda touched my labia 3 hours after we done it. (I'm scared, what if it was under my fingernails) Same fingers that touched his pp.
2 weeks after the 8th of april my sister told me it was impossible because he never came near my vagina. And besides, My period stopped since January. There's no regular ovulation. And then I told her what if there's a standby egg inside me to be fertilized. And sister told me that egg isn't functional. I was worry-free for another week or two. Not till the 29th.
On the 29th, exactly on a Monday I started feeling dizzy and tired. (Also the fact This happened on the 4th week after us doing it. Google told me that dizziness will be apparent not till the 4th week) Food aversions? Whenever I look at food I kinda wanna throw up.Not till I actually eat it.But idk if it's just my mind playing tricks on me. But I'm cautious not to overeat. I don't wanna gain weight. I started bawling on a Thursday because I don't wanna be pregnant. Not right now. I don't have the urge to throw up its just when I move my head around when I feel dizzy. Morning sickness? No. But my breast's had gotten fuller. On the 5th of May I went to the gym. Along those days I noticed blobs of brown to reddish blood when I peed. That was the last straw. Google told me it was implantation spotting. I started crying cuz of fear. I don't know what to do. Oh God. Monday Morning I went to class I was weak and nauseous the whole car ride. I went home and I had a full on headache. I slumped on the bed and slept it out.
This morning (7th of may) I found out downing 2 tablets of paracetamol would help for bleeding (and possibly, taking it out) I took two and in the afternoon, (500 mg of those tablets btw,each) then I noticed little brownish blobs. It's rusty and dark brown in color. Is this implantation bleeding again? Oh God I'm so stressed. I can't focus on my work and it's taking a toll on me and my boyfriend's mental health. I haven't taken a PT yet cuz of my conservative parents. I can't just take pills out of nowhere for which explains the paracetamol part. I have nothing on me. My parents are very strict and I can't even go outside to but a pt. I asked my bf to buy me some which he agreed. It's just I'm finding a way to get it from him. I'm so worried. I just need reassurance. Is there any way I can confirm if im really pregnant? Why am I nauseous and dizzy? I've been feeling weak too. I need advice. Please help me in anyway. I need peace of mind. I can't endure another week of this overthinking anymore. To the point I can't even sleep. Please help a girlie out. Thank you so much.

Hey all,
I’ve been amazed at the diversity of everyone’s experience with this injury and have benefitted a lot from reading your stories, so I thought I’d give a one month update.
28F ACLr with Achilles allograph. Skiing injury.
Pain: - First week was fine. Fair bit of pain on the first day, but managed with oxy. Switched to Tylenol and Asprin from the second night. - After week one, I haven’t consistently needed pain killers. Kept up with aspirin to help with the swelling. - Sleeping is the hardest. You have nothing to distract you from the discomfort/strangeness of your leg. - Still icing and elevating like a mad thing.
Walking: - Post surgery, I was weight bearing as tolerated and found I could put a substantial portion of my weight on the leg almost straight away. On crutches and in the very sleek full-leg brace locked at 0. - Got off crutches week 1.5. Had to demonstrate >90 flexion, 0 extension, and control over and strength in my quad (for example, squats without shaking). - Out of the locked brace week 2 (first post op visit). Freedom! - Cleared by PT to ditch the flexible brace week 3. Had to demonstrate full ROM and weighted control (weighted squats, heel lifts, on the bike). Today was the first day I did a big long walk without the brace and it was terrifying but amazing. So excited. I keep giggling with glee every time I walk up stairs. It’s freaking strangers out. - I have this strange resistance at the front of my leg when I walk. Not (always) pain per se, more like tension. Apparently there is a point at which this clears (with a relieving pop). Waiting for that glorious day.
PT/exercise: - ROM exercises from day 3. Heel slides are the worst! But very helpful. - First PT session day 10 (despite my asking my surgeon if I could go earlier). Had >90 flex and 0 ext thanks to those horrible heel slides. Started with more ROM exercises and getting full quad activation. - Gradually moved on to weight bearing exercises. Jumped (not literally) on the bike week 3. Magical. - PT 2x per week for the foreseeable future (or until the insurance runs out). Will move back to one when I focus on strength building and then come back to 2x when I move to dynamic movement (running, jumping, etc.). - Gym every other day but I’m taking it slowly. Enjoying being on the bike. I sometimes get the sense that I’m overdoing it and move to stretches/ROM exercises. My motto is: don’t be stupid.
Scar management/complications: - The surgeon did a brilliant job: the scars are fine and minimal. - Using Mederma daily. - At around week 3 I got some angry red rashes around the incisions. Very itchy. I was worried they were infected, but it’s an allergic reaction to the surgical glue. This is common, so worth keeping an eye out for. Over the counter antihistamines have helped immensely. - Asking my PT about scar tissue management today thanks to you all.
Lessons learned: - I wish I’d done prehab. I didn’t know to do it and was following the clinic doctor’s advice, but it would help this post op process so much if my leg hadn’t atrophied so much. - I wanted to start PT earlier. I’ve been fine, but I think that would have been good. - You don’t need all the gadgets. They help and can make your life more comfortable, but they can be expensive. For this injury, I bought an exercise strap and two ice packs. I had an exercise mat and access to a gym. A husband is also very useful. - Everyone’s timeframes and experience will be different. I was so, so lucky to do no further damage to my leg. All of you with meniscus tears: holy moly.
Goals: - Ultimately, I want to be back skiing in February next year. My PT says I’m on track. - For now, taking this lad for a trail walk would be delightful.

My sister (26F, 160cm, ~52kg) is currently abroad and has been suffering intense food poisoning symptoms since the 27th of April.
It started with nausea, dizziness and blacking out. She then had severe diarrhea in the evening, and no control over it (happened during her sleep). Earlier that day, she had the same food/water as 3 other people and none of them got sick.
Since then, she’s been experiencing severe stomach cramping (whole stomach and her sides), nausea, dizziness. She’s been vomiting and having diarrhea instantly after any food or water intake, and essentially hasn’t eaten or drank much since the onset of this.
She would vomit any solid larger chunks of food (describing this as very painful and hurting her chest), and simultaneously have diarrhea of all the ‘smaller’ things (e.g. yogurt) that would come out as they were (entirely undigested).
Her vomit and diarrhea has also been green, and she’s been severely dehydrated, barely peeing during all of this. Because of this she got a nurse to do home visits and administer IV saline and paracetamol.
She has been to a private hospital several times but was discharged each time because she didn’t present with a fever.
They have asked her to fast since the 5th of May, and to drink small sips of water and sugar, in order to do blood tests. They spoke about potentially doing endoscopy tomorrow, dependent on the blood test results.
She had blood tests done yesterday (6th May), and they found nothing. Here are the results (roughly translated from French):
RBC - 5.06 million/mm3 Hemoglobin - 15.1 g/dL Hematocrits - 44.1% Mean corpuscular volume - 87 µm3 Mean blood cell count in Hb - 30 pg Mean corpuscular Hb concentration - 34.2 g/dL *Leucocytes- 11,230 / mm3 Polynuclear neutrophiles- 67% or 7500 / mm3 Polynuclear eosinophiles - 1% or 140 / mm3 Polynuclear basophiles- 0% or 20 / mm3 Lymphocytes- 22% or 2440 / mm3 *Monocytes - 10% or 1130 / mm3 *Platelets - 463,000 / mm3 *C-reactive protein - 7.13 mg/L Ferritin- 31.7 ng/mL transglutaminase IgA - 0.7 Ul/mL transglutaminase IgG - 1.6 Ul/mL
I’m confused on why they haven’t done a blood culture or a stool sample.
The medications she has been given so far*: - ‘Vominat’ (4mg ondansetron ) - Trimebutine 200mg (3x day) - Omeprazole 40mg - Rifaximin 200mg (dose=2 capsules, twice a day) - Esomeprazole 20mg - Nifuroxazide 200mg *she says that none have been effective, some she’d vomit right away, except for Rifaximin.
Possible exposure: she can’t think of anything she’s dont out of the norm that others haven’t, but she has been petting the street cats for the past month or so. We’re also wondering if it might be from tap water (though she hasn’t drank it).
We’re worried because her health is deteriorating and she looks like she’s lost weight and is still experiencing severe symptoms.
She’s going back to the hospital tomorrow to discuss the results but we’re worried they’ll discharge her, because they explained her blood work was normal over the phone today.
What can we do from here? Are there any further tests you’d suggest?

Alright, so I just spent an hour today trying to catch a Regirock that really didn't want to stay in the pokéball. Now I know the game's RNG is seed based so I tried a bunch of different ways to get it to low health then used all of my balls but nothing seemed to work.
Getting frustrated, I got a sheet of paper and started mapping out the catching attempts using ball shakes pattern, to see if I could understand the RNG better, and I came up with the following observations :
• The success rate of ball throws are turn dependant. For example, if 8 rogue balls are thrown at a pokémon before catching it, the first 7 balls didn't actually matter, and those 7 turns could have been spent doing anything else, then a guaranteed catch would have happened on turn 8 anyway.
• Switching up the type of ball used doesn't actually change the RNG. If a rogue ball doesn't catch, then a worse ball is also guaranteed to fail.
• Significant changes are needed to change the outcome of ball throws. Just switching up the order of the moves used isn't enough. Especially against boss pokémon, where using different moves that are all super-effective just to get past the HP thresholds quickly still resulted in the same patterns.
As a result of those observations, I can now give a heuristical method of catching particurly elusive pokémon without wasting too many resources. Let's imagine an encounter where 5 rogue balls are available. (It will take more or less time depending on the actual number used.)
• Start by getting the pokémon to low health, taking note of the method used to do so, then throw all 5 balls at it.
• If the pokémon is not caught, reload the page, use the same method to get it to low HP again, then waste 5 turns (switching or using healing moves for example). Throw the 5 balls again.
• If the pokémon is still not caught, reload, get it back down, waste 10 turns, then throw the balls.
• Repeat by wasting 15 turns, then 20, and so forth until the pokémon is caught. At that point you can reload one last time, wasting the exact number of turns needed, then throwing a single ball for a guaranteed catch.
• If the pokémon is resisting capture after too many repeats, try switching up the method used to get it to low HP, by doing SIGNIFICANTLY different actions. Aim for a different remaining HP for example.

Barred From Each Other: Why Normative Husbands Remain Married to Incarcerated Wives—An Exploratory Study – page 1
Tomer Einat1, Inbal Harel-Aviram1, and
Sharon Rabinovitz2
Abstract
This study explores men’s motivation and justification to remain married to their criminal, imprisoned wives. Using semistructured interviews and content-analysis, data were collected and analyzed from eight men who maintain stable marriage relationships with their incarcerated wives. Participants are normative men who describe incarceration as a challenge that enhances mutual responsibility and commitment. They exaggerate the extent to which their partners resemble archetypal romantic ideals. They use motivational accounts to explain the woman’s criminal conduct, which is perceived as nonrelevant to her real identity. Physical separation and lack of physical intimacy are perceived as the major difficulties in maintaining their marriage relations. Length of imprisonment and marriage was found to be related to the decision whether to continue or terminate the relationships. Women-inmates’ partners experience difficulties and use coping strategies very similar to those cited by other normative spouses facing lengthy separation.
Keywords
marriage, female inmates, normative spouses, incarceration, romantic accounts
Introduction
One of the most significant “pains of imprisonment” for female inmates is the separation from their husbands (Farkas & Rand, 1999; Severance, 2005a, 2005b). This disconcerting and frustrating deprivation often negatively affects women’s ability to function as wives while in prison and after release (Dodge & Pogrebin, 2001; Pollock-Byrne, 1990). When a man is imprisoned, the marriage usually remains intact (Dodge & Pogrebin, 2001; Shapiro, 2003; Travis, McBride, & Solomon, 2003), whereas women’s incarceration often results in their abandonment by their partners and termination of their marriage (the term marriage in this study relates to formally wedded couples and common-law couples; Hairston, 1991; Sergin & Flora, 2005).
The abandonment of women prisoners by their spouses has been recognized by researchers and practitioners as a noteworthy component of women-inmates’ subculture (Dodge & Pogrebin, 2001) and a significant factor of their rehabilitation and reentry into society (Visher & Travis, 2003). However, relatively few studies have addressed this topic in depth (Dodge & Pogrebin, 2001; MacKenzie, Robinson, & Campbell, 1995; Sobel, 1982). Furthermore, close examination reveals that prisoners’ marital relationships were addressed mainly from the inmates’ point of view (Girshick, 1996; Hairston & Addams, 2001) and focused, almost exclusively, on male inmates (Accordino & Guerney, 1998; Fishman, 1988; Girshick, 1992). In other words, the study of marital relationships between inmates and their spouses’ neglected women inmates, and the few studies examining female inmates overlooked 50% of the individuals involved in these relationships and possibly affected by them—the husbands.
Thus, in the preliminary research for this paper, we could not find a single empirical study that had focused on the rationale behind men’s decision to terminate or maintain their marital relations with incarcerated wives nor on the impact of such a decision on their emotional and behavioral state. The aim of this exploratory study is to fill this literature lacuna and explore the motivations and justification of men to remain married to their criminal wives imprisoned in Neve Tirza prison—the sole prison facility for women in Israel. By examining these topics, the current study seeks to identify and analyze the significance of marital relationships to women-inmates’ spouses and to describe the dynamics of marital relationships between men and incarcerated spouses, both from men’s perspective, a step that previous research has not taken before.
The following sections will provide information about Neve Tirza prison as well as cover topics relating to marital stability among inmates and offender reentry, drawing on the criminological and correctional literatures.
The Neve Tirza Prison
Neve Tirza prison is the sole women’s prison in Israel. The facility is located in the Central District of Israel, next to the city of Ramla in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan in Israel. The prison houses 225 criminal (as opposed to security) inmates at full capacity. Yet, at the time of the research, it housed no more than 180 prisoners. Fifty-two percent of the inmates have been previously jailed, and the average incarceration period is 2.7 years (SD = 2.70). Approximately, 58% of the prison population are incarcerated for drug-related crimes (substance abuse, drug dealing, and possession), 16% are incarcerated for violent crimes, 16% for bodily crimes, 45% for fiscal crimes, and 13% for other offences (Einat & Chen, 2012).1
The ethnic ratio of the prison population is 62% Jews and 36% Arabs, who are Israeli nationals, and 2% foreigners. The marital status of the inmates is 63% single (n = 113), 32% (n = 58) divorced, and 5% (n = 9) married (Einat & Chen, 2012)— comparable, albeit not identical, to U.S. and U.K. prisons. In U.S. prisons, 85% of all women in local jails (4% widowed, 13% separated, 20% divorced, 48% never married), 83% in state prisons (6% widowed, 10% separated, 20% divorced, 47% never married), and 71% in federal prisons (6% widowed, 21% separated, 10% divorced, 34% never married) are not married (Greenfeld, & Snell, 2000). In U.K. prisons, 24% of women-inmates are married or lived together with a spouse prior to their imprisonment, 63% are single, and 12% are either widowed, divorced, or separated (Hamlin & Lewis, 2000).
In Israel, 85% of the women-inmates are eligible for a monthly 30-min family visit and a 24/48-hr furlough. Fifteen percent of the prisoners, who are ineligible for home furloughs, are entitled to a monthly, 12-hr conjugal visit (Ben Avraham, 2012). Such furlough/visitation policy differs significantly from other parallel policies in Western and non-Western correctional facilities (for a comprehensive review, see Einat & Rabinovitz, 2013).
Incarceration, Marital Stability, and Inmates’ Reentry
Incarceration prevents meaningful interaction and limits physical and emotional connections among spouses (Booth, Johnson, White, & Edwards, 1984; Sergin & Flora, 2005), and often changes individuals in ways that make them incompatible with their partners (Comfort, 2008; Nurse, 2002; Rindfuss & Stephen, 1990). Physically separated spouses experience deficits of emotional interaction (Hill, 1988), which increases the number of disagreements and lowers marital satisfaction (Booth et al., 1984). In addition, these physical and mental processes negatively affect the emotional status of the inmates inside the prison (Faith, 1993; Jiang & Winfree, 2006; Thompson & Loper, 2005) and harm the likelihood of their successful rehabilitation and reentry into society after release (Gunnison & Helfgott, 2013; Horney, Osgood, & Marshall, 1995; Laub, Nagin, & Sampson, 1998; Vaillant, 1995; Ward, 2001). Ironically, and irrespective of the negative impact of incarceration and separation from spouse on marital stability (Massoglia, Remster, & King, 2011) and of imprisonment and marital dissolution on prisoner reentry (Laub & Sampson, 2001), several enforcement systems raise various barriers that prevent partners (and families) from remaining in contact while a spouse is behind bars. For example, in the United States, more than 60% of state and 80% of federal inmates are imprisoned in facilities located more than 100 miles from home (Mumola, 2000). Wives (as well as other family members) may lack the time and means to travel these long distances with children on a regular basis (Christian, 2005; Christian, Mellow, & Thomas, 2006). Consequently, 57% of male state-prison inmates in the United States had never had a personal visit with their children since their admission to prison and only a quarter of male inmates with families reported weekly contact by phone or postal mail with loved ones (Mumola, 2000). Pelka Slugocka and Slugocki (1980) qualitatively analyzed female inmates’ viewpoints regarding the relationship between incarceration and marital stability. Most of their research participants (86.3%, n = 282) maintained that imprisonment was the sole reason for the destruction of their marriage, whereas 13.7% (n = 45) asserted that it was the combination of husbands’ personalities and their imprisonment. Moreover, the research revealed that the divorce generated feelings of despair and frustration among the female inmates, and harmed their rehabilitation and successful reentry into society.
Hairston’s (1991) review concluded that the stress and strain that male imprisonment imposes on family ties are due, mainly, to denial of sexual relations and inability to engage in and share day-to-day interactions and experiences. As time passes, the spouse at home visits the prisoner less frequently and many marriages fail. Similarly, Kiser (1991) found that most male prisoners perceived their separation from their families—alongside the realization that they themselves had brought undeserved hardship to their families—as the most difficult aspect of doing time. Therefore, encouraging inmates and families to maintain relationships would benefit most inmates, their families, and the prisons.
Bobbitt and Nelson (2004) portrayed the positive aspects of various family involvement programs (i.e., La Bodega de la Familia and the Greenlight Family Reintegration Program) on drug abuse, recidivism rates, family strength, avoidance of illegal activity, possession of jobs, and obtainment of stable housing. The researchers’ main conclusion was that families can be a powerful material and emotional force for positive change for members making the difficult transition from institutional life back to the community . . . and can significantly assist probation and parole officers in their quest to successfully reenter ex-criminals and ex-prisoners to the community. (Bobbitt & Nelson, 2004, p. 8) In support of that conclusion, Horney et al. (1995) found that living with a normative wife limited significantly convicted felons’ involvement in illegal behavior after release from prison.
The importance of marriage to recidivism rates and reentry was discussed in several cornerstone criminal theories. Hirschi’s (1969) social control theory assumes that individuals are prevented from engaging in delinquency by four social bonds: involvement, attachment, commitment, and belief. When these bonds are weak, and the appropriate motivations rise, individuals are more likely to engage in delinquency.
Individuals with high affection and respect (attachment) are less likely to engage in delinquency because they do not want to harm the approval of people they care about. In their age-graded theory of informal social control, Laub and Sampson (1993) emphasize the importance of quality and strength of current social ties (such as strong bonds of attachment to a partner) in adapting to life transitions more than the occurrence or timing of discrete life events. Hence, marriage by itself may not increase social control, but close emotional ties and mutual investment increase the social bond between individuals and can decrease criminal behavior. Although this issue has been a source of controversy (e.g., Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990), Farrington and West (1995) also concluded that a stable marriage was nevertheless related to adult social conformity, even in adults who were identified at high-risk as children. Whereas these theories emphasize emotional ties and support, the cognitive transformation theory focuses on the conscious transformation of one’s identity in the process of desistance from crime (Giordano, Cernkovich, & Rudolph, 2002). Thus, through associations
with a spouse who sees them as noncriminals, inmates are exposed to and receive reinforcement for socially approved attitudes and behaviors (Agnew, 2005) and are likely to receive support for not only avoiding illegal behavior but also developing normative self-perceptions.
In summary, identification of various problems faced by men married to incarcerated spouses with regard to the preservation of marital relationships may significantly promote the understanding of the impact of incarceration on marital continuation/dissolution and assist in developing effective policies directed at their maintenance. Such policies appear to be highly important due to the existence of a (correlative or casual) link between continuation of stable romantic relations among normative men and incarcerated spouses, reduction of the negative effects of various “pains of imprisonment” (Faith, 1993; Jiang & Winfree, 2006; Thompson & Loper, 2005), and inmates’ successful reentry and desistance from crime after release (Horney et al., 1995; Ward, 2001)
Method
Research Tool
We used a flexible research design (Briggs, 1986). This methodology enables access to unpredicted subject matter and helps examine it from the perspective of the research sample (Silverman, 1993). Flexible design enabled us to incorporate unexpected contents, accommodating data as they emerged, thereby enhancing the quality and authenticity of the findings (Stake, 1995). The qualitative semistructured interview, based on guidelines that ensure that all interviewees are subject to similar stimuli and create a common basis for data analysis (Maruna, 2001), was found most appropriate for this study. To ensure reliability, all interviews were conducted by the researchers only.
While the semistructured interview maintains a subjective framework, it enables the interviewer and the interviewee to correct misunderstandings or vagueness during the course of the interview (Rubin & Rubin, 1995). This flexibility contributes to the quality and credibility of the interview (Briggs, 1986; Suchman & Jordan, 1990).
Each interview began with a similar open-ended broad question: “Could you please tell us about your romantic relationship with your spouse prior to her incarceration?” Only after the interviewees had answered the question, did we initiate a series of questions on the main difficulties of maintaining romantic relationships with an incarcerated spouse and the strategies used to do so: “How would you define your current romantic relationships with your spouse?” “How do you maintain romantic relationships with your incarcerated spouse?” “Does your spouse’s conviction and incarceration affect your mutual romantic relations?” “What are/were the main romantic crises you experience/d with her and how do/did you deal with them?” “What is your main motivation for maintaining marital relationships with your spouse; do you experience moments where you want to end your marriage?” “Do you experience any regrets as regards to your decision to maintain marital relationships with your spouse?”
Participants
Out of 180 prisoners incarcerated in the single Israeli female incarceration facility, Neve Tirza Prison, only 9 (5%, of whom 8%-4.4% agreed to take part in the study) maintained stable romantic relationships longer than 3 years. One male partner declined to participate in the study after being informed by his incarcerated spouse about the purpose of the study and its procedures, resulting in a final sample size of eight men and a response rate of 88.9%. Thus, the research sample includes almost all partners of female inmates who maintained stable romantic relationships for 3 years and more in Israel.
The participants were eight husbands—six were married to prisoners and two kept stable, romantic—although nonmarital—relations with their imprisoned spouses for more than 3 years (years of relationships range—3.5-35; M = 17.06, SD = 10.14, median = 17.5). Hence, the latter were acknowledged by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) and by the Israeli ruling as common-law husbands (Israel Prison Service, 2012). Six of the eight couples had mutual children (compared with 61% of the prison population; Einat & Chen, 2012).
The ethnic distribution of the research sample (as well as the participants’ incarcerated spouses) was 75% (n = 6) Jews and 25% (n = 2) Muslim-Arab, all of whom were Israeli citizens. This ratio resembles the ethnic distribution of the general Israeli female inmates’ population (62% Jews; 36% Arabs; Einat & Chen, 2012). Participants had a mean of 9.6 years of education (SD = 1.4); the mean age of the participants is 48.9 (SD = 9.0). The distribution of the socioeconomic status of the research participants—as perceived and described by them—is high (37.5%; n = 3), moderate (12.5%; n = 1), and poor (50%; n = 4). Eighty-seven percent (n = 7) of the participants had no criminal record and 12.5% (n = 1) have been jailed. All participants were legally employed and maintained secured normative housekeeping. The women whose husbands we interviewed have been incarcerated for 21.8 months (M; SD = 9.42, compared with 27 months in the general prison population) and convicted to serve 41.4 months (M; SD = 43.1, compared with 31 of the prison population; Ibid). Twenty-five percent of the women have been previously jailed (compared with 52% of the prison population; Ibid), and 25% were drug abusers (as opposed to 65% drug abusing inmates out of Neve Tirza Prison’s general population). Hence the women whose husbands participated in this study differ substantially from the general female inmate population.
Content analysis revealed five major themes about marital relationships between normative men and their incarcerated wives: (a) perceptions of marital relations with incarcerated wife, (b) perceptions of wife’s criminal conduct, (c) difficulties in marital relationships with incarcerated wife, (d) preconditions for the continuation of marital relationships between normative men and incarcerated wives, (e) ways of preserving the marital relationships with incarcerated wives.
Perceptions of Marital Relations With Incarcerated Wives
Commitment and motivation. Research has repeatedly shown that commitment and motivation are the basis for a good and stable marriage, one which successfully tackles situations of crisis (Hawkins, Carroll, Doherty, & Wiloughby, 2004; Mace, 1982; Sabatelli & Cecil-Pigo, 1985). Commitment and motivation, which reflect the mutual responsibility of the couple to the preservation of their marriage (Clements & Swensen, 2000), are also identified as the best predictors of the quality of such relationships (Sabatelli & Cecil-Pigo, 1985; Surra, Arizzi, & Asmussen, 1988). Similarly, the findings of the present study indicate that the incarceration of their partners led the participants to recognize their obligation to the women and to their marital relations:
All in all, it [the wife’s imprisonment] connected us together as a couple and united our family. That’s the way we behave in our family—when there’s a problem we become united. (I., a 47-year-old Muslim husband, married to an inmate sentenced to 14 months)
During the incarceration, I felt as if I become a part of her, as if we became one. During this time, our romantic relationships grew stronger and stronger. We went through hell and it made us stronger. It intensified our love. (D., a 34-year-old Jewish common-law husband, romantically-related to a prisoner sentenced to a period of 3.1 years)
We overcame all our problems together, and we will overcome all obstacles, including the incarceration, together. It [the imprisonment] even made our romantic relationships grow stronger, made us show how committed we are to each other. (C., a 37-year-old Muslim husband, married to an inmate sentenced to 1.5 years prison.
Nonetheless, and somewhat in contrast to these statements, our findings also suggest that the imprisonment of female spouses generated major dyadic crisis, which, at least temporarily, destabilized the romantic relations. Specifically, all participants noted that the incarceration raised frustration, tension, and lack of trust, which led them to consider and reconsider their motivation to preserve the marital relationship:
There was a lot of tension and pressure the moment they arrested her. We had lots of
arguments, did a lot of shouting and cursing. (T., a 52-year-old Jewish husband, married to an ex-addict sentenced to prison for 14 months)
I love her very much and can’t deny it. But her arrest caused a lot of chaos between us, a lot of stress and arguments. I even remember a moment where I wanted to hit her. (A., a 43-year-old Jewish husband, married to an inmate sentenced to a period of 22 years).
I. expressed a similar viewpoint:
I was quiet disappointed and I stopped trusting her. The fact that she did not share her behavior with me was more disappointing than the acts themselves. I can’t say that she betrayed me . . . after all she did it for the sake of both of us so it’s not a matter of unfaithfulness. But she didn’t tell me right at the beginning, and this is a shame.
Love. Love is one of the most significant elements in the preservation of and long-lasting marital relationships (Mackey & O’Brien, 1995; Sharlin, 1996) and is attributed greatly to successfully dealing with short- or long-term romantic crises. Love is also a meaningful element in partners’ mutual acceptance and support (Meeks, Hendrick, & Hendrick, 1998; Sokolski & Hendrick, 1999). In accordance, the findings of this study reveal that the participants perceive love as a noteworthy character of their marriage and an important factor in their decision to preserve marriage relationships:

Barred From Each Other: Why Normative Husbands Remain Married to Incarcerated Wives—An Exploratory Study – page 2
You’ve got to understand, what we’re talking about here is great love. That’s the whole story. The idea of leaving her never came up. It was never mentioned or discussed. Our romantic life could never be dismantled just because one of us did something wrong. Separation is totally irrelevant. [After exposing her crime] I never felt as if I don’t love her or want her less. It’s all a matter of pure commitment—built on pure love—and this is something you do not abandon. (A., 53)
I decided to stay with her for two reasons: great love and great commitment. I swear that [after her incarceration] it never crossed my mind to leave her. I’m with her until the end. Our love is priceless. I don’t care for other women; I’m just waiting for her. I always knew from the second I met her that we will be together until death. I will not desert her regardless of the situation. She is the best thing that ever happened to me. (D., 34)
I told myself, you’re not going to leave her no matter what happens. We’ve been together since we’re 17, we love each other a lot and we’re committed to each other. Let it be clear—I decided to stay with her just because of us, and not because of the kids and the house. I love her very much. She is the love of my life and my best friend and I’m staying with her no matter what happens. (S., a 53-year-old Jewish husband, married to an inmate sentenced to a period of 27 months in prison, continues in the same vein.
Interestingly, in addition to the decisive description of all research participants of their marriage in terms of love and devotion, six participants related to these relations and their spouses in adorable and admirable ways. These participants perceive their women partners as being unique and exceptional, each a veritable femme fatale, and describe the relations with them in various flattering and admirable ways.
She is everything to me. When I look to the right—I see her. When I look to the left—I see
her. I see her and no one else but her. I admire her. She is pure gold. There is no one like her
in the world and that’s why our love is so strong. (Y., a 60-year-old Jewish husband, married
to a first-timer sentenced to 4 years)
And this sentiment is echoed in two other statements:
I admire my wife. She is bigger than life itself. I can only thank God that she’s mine/that I have her. (S., 53)
She is a very special woman and a friend. She is special, not like any other woman. (A., 53)
While these quotations illustrate the high appreciation and admiration of the women spouses, the next ones portray the specific personal characteristics that make the women so admirable:
She is the most clever, intelligent, and lovely woman in the world. She is energetic, active, and dominant. An amazing woman. (T., 52
She is a good soul. She is warm and emphatic, [mentally] stronger than any man I know, very reliable. She has so many virtues: understandable, intelligent, supportive, funny, and very ethical. (D., 34)
She is [mentally] a very strong woman. She is remarkable . . . outstanding. She knows everything—regardless of the fact that she’s in prison. (Z., 55)
She is a good human-being: She takes care of everyone . . . pays attention to everyone . . . she loves to help people. (A., 53
All the participants love and admire their partners and perceive them as an attached and inherent part of their past, present, and future married lives. These statements clearly demonstrate that love is perceived as an essential component for the preservation of good marital relations—in general and in times of crisis. Moreover, regardless of female-spouses’ criminal conduct and imprisonment, most partners describe them as ideal and wonderful women, using words of admiration. As such, continuation of the marriage to them may be perceived as an obvious and rational act.
Perception of Wife’s Criminal Conduct
Numerous studies have argued that most female inmates are abandoned by their male counterparts, be it because of the forced disengagement and/or the shame in their “betrayal” of the law, their families, and their “traditional gender roles” (McGowan & Blumenthal, 1978; Stanton, 1980). Evidently, such desertion is solely dependent on men’s discretion, irrespective of the female inmates’ desires (Dodge & Pogrebin, 2001; Pelka-Slugocka & Slugocki, 1980).
Somewhat in contrast to these studies, our findings indicate that although all participants acknowledge that their spouses committed various criminal offenses and morally reject it, they do not perceive them and their criminal conduct as shameful and disgraceful. Specifically, the participants (deliberately or unintentionally) describe their spouses’ criminal behaviors in a forgiving manner, explaining it as a “sad tale” (i.e., an outcome of harsh and complicated life-story; Scott & Lyman, 1968). By doing so, they invalidate the female inmates’ moral and criminal responsibilities, detach their criminal conduct from their character, and defend their dignity and importance:
My wife did not do all these things. She meant to do no bad. I know that she doesn’t act out of evilness . . . she is a good person . . . a victim of herself. She didn’t really want to kill me . . . It is not her fault . . . her friends are bad . . . they pushed her to act this way. I can’t believe and I don’t believe that she did what she did independently. (A., 53)
They [the police] found some financial inconsistencies in the bank and instead of exposing the truth and framing her brother, she took responsibility. I knew she did everything in order to save her brother. She is a good soul and her family members abused her. All she did was done in order to protect her family and not because she’s bad. She is a good soul . . . a queen who made a mistake in order to save her brother. (S., 53)
She did not take it [the money] for herself . . . She gave it to her family. She has a big family and someone had to take care of them. Looking back, I think she had no choice. (I., 47)
Six participants use neutralization techniques (Sykes & Matza, 1957) to support their contention of their partners’ morality. The men resort to “denial of injury” and “denial of responsibility.” In their simplest form, the former technique suggests that this was a no-victim crime and the latter proposes that the criminal actions were caused by forces beyond the perpetrator’s control (Enticott, 2011).
After all, what did she do? What crime had she committed? It’s not that she enjoyed the money. It’s not that she is walking around wearing lots of jewelry. She’s a modest individual and all in all she did not take big sums of money. Maybe they [justice system] can define her as an offender, but for me she is P., my beloved wife, and that’s that. (C., 37)
n fact, what did she do? She got involved with the gray market, something that could happen to anyone, and they forced her to do what she did. It could happen to me, to you, to anyone. She made a mistake but she is only human. But it’s not a crime and she’s not a criminal. (Z., 55)
No! My wife is not a criminal. She didn’t break the law. In my opinion, all she did was make a single mistake. The fact that she’s in prison does not make her a criminal. (I., 47)
Difficulties in Marital Relationships With Incarcerated Wife
Numerous studies have repeatedly argued that three factors underlie most crises in marital relationships: diminished (or extinguished) love, reduced (or lack of) intimacy, and weakened (or nonexistent) commitment (Mace, 1982; Sabatelli & Cecil-Pigo, 1985; Sharlin, 1996; Sokolski & Hendrick, 1999; Surra et al., 1988). Our findings deviate somewhat and indicate that regardless of lengths of imprisonment and/or marriage, the major difficulty experienced by most (n = 7) participants relates to lack of physical intimacy. All other inconveniences and difficulties characterizing marital relationships in crisis (Huston, Caughlin, Houts, Smith, & George, 2001) appear to be irrelevant to the interviewees:
During the last six months [time of spouse’s incarceration] everything has obviously changed, because of her physical absence. We meet once a month [conjugal visits] and it is not enough. I miss the physical intimacy, the physical togetherness. I miss it. It is difficult. I currently and practically live with no romantic relationships. I miss her body and her smell.
(I., 47)
I miss her smell. She has amazing smells, nothing I experienced with other women. I miss having sex with her. I miss being hugged by her, feeling her head on my shoulder. (D., 34)
[You can’t believe] how much I miss her. I miss her hugs, I miss the physical contact with her, I miss going to sleep with her. (T., 52)
An additional difficulty, raised by six (75%) participants, relates to lack of support by family members, friends, and acquaintances. In some cases, participants report that people totally ignored or terminated relationships after the incarceration. The participants view this kind of behavior as an outcome of shame and/or disappointment:
It wasn’t easy with my family [because] they wanted me to divorce her. They didn’t understand how she could do that and didn’t accept her. They were really furious. They decided to break off relations with her. My reaction, by the way, was to completely break off my relations with my family. (Z., 55)
Some family members and all my neighbors told me that I should be ashamed of my wife. In school, my children suffered daily harassments from other children, from the teachers, and even from the headmaster. All of them wanted us to forget her as if she were dead. They think she should be “dead” . . . deleted! (S., 53)
Two very close friends of ours were informed [by us] about the trial and the offense. It was very embarrassing. Yet, their reaction was even more embarrassing and made us want to bury ourselves deep in the ground: In the most difficult moment of our life, they deserted us. They had a very dramatic discussion with my wife on the phone with lots of shouting and yelling and then, decided to stop talking to us. These people are not human-beings. You cannot call them friends. (Y., 60)
None of her friends called or asked us how we feel. None of our friends came to visit her in prison. Is this friendship? This is disgusting. It’s very difficult to live with the notion that suddenly, when you are in trouble, everyone disappears. Suddenly, no-one wishes to be your friend. (A., 53)
Preconditions for the Continuation of Marital Relationships Between Normative Men and Incarcerated Wives
All research participants have pointed out two central factors that could have had a negative effect on the marriage, perhaps even leading to their termination of this relationship: (a) length of prison sentence and (b) length of marriage prior to the imprisonment.
Length of prison sentence. Most (n = 7) participants assert that because their spouses were sentenced to relatively short terms of imprisonment, they did not consider leaving them. However, they also state that if the sentence had been longer, they may have considered terminating the marriage and finding a new relationship:
I don’t know what would have happened to our romantic relationships if she’d been imprisoned for, let’s say, 20 years. I believe I would have separated from her. It’s like disappearing from someone’s life for a very long time. Time is definitely a significant factor.
(I., 47)
On the day of the verdict, when the judge said “4 years,” I felt as if my hands were freezing. If it were 10 or 15 years, then I’d probably acted differently. I doubt if I would have stayed with her . . . with all due respect to love. (Z., 55)
These findings strengthen previous findings (Holt & Miller, 1972; Walker, 1983) revealing a decline in visiting patterns among wives of long-term prisoners compared with wives of short-termers, as well as deterioration of marriages over long periods of incarceration.
I had a very dramatic discussion with my wife on the phone with lots of shouting and yelling and then, decided to stop talking to us. These people are not human-beings. You cannot call them friends. (Y., 60)
None of her friends called or asked us how we feel. None of our friends came to visit her in
prison. Is this friendship? This is disgusting. It’s very difficult to live with the notion that
suddenly, when you are in trouble, everyone disappears. Suddenly, no-one wishes to be your
friend. (A., 53)
Preconditions for the Continuation of Marital Relationships Between Normative Men and Incarcerated Wives
All research participants have pointed out two central factors that could have had a negative effect on the marriage, perhaps even leading to their termination of this relationship: (a) length of prison sentence and (b) length of marriage prior to the imprisonment.
Length of prison sentence. Most (n = 7) participants assert that because their spouses were sentenced to relatively short terms of imprisonment, they did not consider leaving them. However, they also state that if the sentence had been longer, they may have considered terminating the marriage and finding a new relationship: I
I don’t know what would have happened to our romantic relationships if she’d been imprisoned for, let’s say, 20 years. I believe I would have separated from her. It’s like disappearing from someone’s life for a very long time. Time is definitely a significant factor.
(I., 47)
On the day of the verdict, when the judge said “4 years,” I felt as if my hands were freezing. If it were 10 or 15 years, then I’d probably acted differently. I doubt if I would have stayed with her . . . with all due respect to love. (Z., 55)
These findings strengthen previous findings (Holt & Miller, 1972; Walker, 1983) revealing a decline in visiting patterns among wives of long-term prisoners compared with wives of short-termers, as well as deterioration of marriages over long periods of incarceration.
Length of marriage prior to incarceration.
The men’s decision to remain married was determined, to a significant degree, to the duration of the relationship prior to the woman’s incarceration. Our findings show that all participants perceive the total length of the relationship prior to spouses’ incarceration to be positively correlated to their decision to remain married:
If we’d been married for a year and then she’d begun committing crimes, I would have separated from her. But now, after so many years of marriage, there is no way I would leave her. The length of our romantic relationships is a critical factor. That’s why I couldn’t see any option of leaving her. (I., 47)
Please don’t forget that I didn’t meet her yesterday, we’ve been together for almost 10 years. We went through many things together. It’s a lot of time and obviously, I won’t leave her. (D., 34
Ways of Preserving the Marital Relationships With Incarcerated Wives
All participants (N = 8) report that to deal with their pain of separation and maintain marital relationships, they use two tactics—frequent phone calls and making all visits
that the prison allows.
The men receive four or five phone calls a day from their imprisoned partners. Both partners await these phone calls and cherish them, as the frequent and continuous delivery and receipt of information create a semblance of the exchange of information that occurs when living under the same roof. Symbolically, the ongoing communication, and hearing the partner’s voice, signifies a continuation of everyday [dyadic and nondyadic] normal life:
We constantly maintain telephone contact. I’m like a child, again and again waiting for her phone calls. It doesn’t matter whether I am with friends, at work, or at a restaurant, I wait for her to call me all the time. She calls me three times a day, in the morning, noon, and in the evening hours. (T., 52)
We talk on the phone all day and every day. We actually do everything through the phone: We talk about her feelings, what happened to her in prison during the day, what happened to me at work, and how we miss each other. That’s basically it. (D., 34)
I love it when she calls me. I look forward to her phone calls. That’s how I really know what is going on with her in prison. (S., 53)
The second tactic is routinely coming for the bi-weekly 30-min visits to which all prisoners are entitled, whether or not they are also allowed home furloughs (IPS, 2012). The visits take place on Saturdays and Sundays, and all families gather in a relatively small, closed, and sealed space. There are open visits in which the inmate can be in physical touch with the visitors and closed visits, conducted through an armored-glass division. All participants welcome the visits, perceive them as the best temporary way of realizing their marriage, and look forward to them:
I visit her every two weeks. Up to now, I haven’t missed a single visit. We were limited to 30 minute in-person visits every two weeks during her first year. After that they let us have a 12 hour conjugal visit each month. Now she can come home [on furlough] for 24 hours every month. That time of being together in the home refreshes our love. In addition, we talk on the phone four times a day. I wait for these calls because I love talking to her. We talk about her day, about my day, about things that happened to both of us at work, about intimate thoughts. (A., 53)
I visit her every two weeks, sometimes with her parents and sometimes alone. We sit together, talk, laugh, and try to make use of our [joint] time. (Y., 60)
I come to visit her every two weeks. I never missed a single visit. Occasionally, I bring our son with me. We wake up at 5 in the morning and drive 4 hours just to see her for 30 minutes. And then we have to drive 4 hours back. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. (C., 37)
Discussion
Incarceration affects all aspects of family life, including the health and well-being of inmates’ spouses and children, and the maintenance of family attachments. It can also lead to marital dissolution (Comfort, 2007; Goffman, 2009; Lopoo & Western, 2005; Western & Wildeman, 2009). Most studies concerning the impact of imprisonment on inmates’ marriages have focused on the effects of men’s incarceration (Chui, 2010; Wildeman, Schnittker, & Turney, 2012), whereas only scarce attention directed at the effects of women’s incarceration on their families. This appears to be quiet odd [and disturbing] in light of research findings showing that most incarcerations of men rarely result in marital breakup (Dodge & Pogrebin, 2001; Travis et al., 2003), whereas most women sentenced to prison are abandoned by their partners and their pre-incarceration romantic relations are terminated (Hairston & Addams, 2001; Sergin & Flora, 2005).
The current study provides important information about the characteristics, motivation, and justifications of men to preserve marital relationships with their imprisoned spouses. Out of 180 prisoners incarcerated in the single Israeli female incarceration facility, Neve Tirza Prison, only nine (of whom eight took part in the study) maintain stable marital relationships longer than 3 years. All these inmates except one, who was sentenced to 264 months, had no criminal records prior to current imprisonment, and were only sentenced to a relatively short time of incarceration (M = 21.8 months). Interestingly, all spouses (but one) have no prior criminal record and therefore can be considered normative (i.e., law-abiding).
The interviews yielded five overarching themes: (a) perceptions of marital relations with incarcerated spouse, (b) perceptions of wife’s criminal conduct, (c) difficulties in marital relationships with incarcerated spouse, (d) preconditions for the continuation of marital relationships between normative men and incarcerated wives, (e) and ways of preserving the marital relationships with incarcerated partners
The discovery that the wife had committed a crime, the following arrest, initial stages of incarceration, and mainly the concealment of the crime from family and community members are experienced as stressful crises. Yet, participants describe incarceration as a challenge that brought the couple even closer, enhancing mutual responsibility and commitment.
This study elucidates the shock and devastation that comes with the discovery that one’s wife had committed a crime, and then with the following arrest and the initial stages of incarceration. The psychosocial effects of finding out about the crime linger well beyond the time of initial shock. Thus, although four (50%) of the participants were interviewed 2 years or more after they had first learned of their wives’ criminal actions, they still referred to the great difficulty of discovery and its long-lasting negative impact. Specifically, all participants testified that the incarceration of their female partners raised frustrations, tension, and lack of trust that led them to reconsider their motivation to preserve their marriages. They clearly described the disruption the revelation caused and the resulting strain on their marital relationship.
Although the romantic relationship was undoubtedly stressed by the discovery of the crime, the arrest, and the incarceration, all participants seemed to have had the resources to meet this challenge or found appropriate support to do so. Our findings indicate that the incarceration led the husbands to recognize their obligation to their partners and to their relationship. Similarly, clinical experience and several empirical studies suggest that some couples facing hospitalization, critical illness, or serious injuries perceive their marital relationship to be improved since the medical episode (e. g., Dorval et al., 2005). The trauma often creates a powerful intensified family bond and feeling of mutual empathy (Eggenberger & Nelms, 2007) and intensifies the desire to protect each other (Burr, 1998). Whether this kind of interaction may stabilize and strengthen a relationship after arrest is to be determined in future research.

I saw a post in here over the weekend about car insurance rates and was inspired to put together something of an insurance primer that might help my fellow Capital Regionnaires.
I’ve been involved with insurance in one capacity or another since 1997 and I’ve experienced all sorts of market fluctuations and sea changes in the industry. The current insurance market is tougher than what we saw after 9/11 or even during the 2008 recession.
Please note that I’m not interested in soliciting business or discussing specific companies here but I’d be glad to answer general questions if you have them.
Please also note I don’t have much to offer on the following topics: corporate greed, the merits and faults of capitalism, lobbying, politics, your view of insurance in general as a “scam”, or why your neighbor’s sister’s boyfriend with 3 DWIs is paying less than you for car insurance.
All I can offer is information and (hopefully) actionable advice for folks looking to navigate a difficult insurance market!
Why are rates increasing?
Inflation. Rising costs of material and labor. Increased occurrence and severity of natural disasters. Increased medical costs. These are the standard justifications carriers use when asking state regulators for permission to raise rates.
Behind the scenes something else that’s happened over the past few years is that reinsurance costs have jumped up significantly. Domestic insurance carriers purchase reinsurance from global financial behemoths so that they afford to cover future claims and stay profitable. Like everything else in your life, those increased costs of doing business are passed on to the consumer so that the margins remain stable.
How does Albany’s insurance situation compare to the rest of the country?
For Homeowners we’re actually pretty damn good comparatively. This is of small comfort if you’re looking at a sizeable increase year-over-year but things are way worse in other parts of the country. California and Florida are grabbing the headlines right now but basically everyone is getting clobbered. The average annual Homeowners premium in the Capital Region for a $300,000 house hovers around $1,000. The national average is $1,700. In Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska it’s $3,000-$4,000. In the most dire situations carriers have decided to completely pull out of certain states or areas completely. It’s too much to get into here but Google “insurance crisis” to get a taste of just how bad it’s getting nationally.
For Auto insurance, there's no getting around that New York State has the highest rates in the country although Florida, Michigan, Louisiana and others are doing their best to catch up. It’s expensive to drive if you live upstate and it’s 3-4x more expensive if you live in one of the five boroughs.
For the past 12-18 months the insurance carriers have taken a defensive posture in New York where they raise renewal rates and drastically cut down on accepting new policies. You’ve experienced this firsthand if you’ve shopped for car insurance recently and gotten something absurd like a $10,000+ a year rate for a single vehicle. That’s the “we’ll cover you but we really, really, really don’t want to so please go away” rate. Some of the company reps I’ve spoken with have expressed cautious optimism that things will open up for them and improve in the 3^rd or 4^th quarter of this year. Other reps are decidedly less optimistic. Personally, I’m not holding my breath for significant overall improvement within the next 12 months.
What can you do as a consumer?
Get proactive and start re-thinking your priorities.
Traditionally, the best way to get lower rates is to shop around but when all the carriers are “turtling” like this finding a better rate becomes very difficult because there’s simply no competition. Still, you should shop as much as possible. Call agents, call independent brokers who can shop many carriers at once, get rates online. Shop it again at renewal. You have to put in the work if you want any hope of finding something palatable.
If you’re purchasing something that requires insurance do your homework and get rates ahead of time. Don’t be one of those people that buys a new car that juuuust fits into their budget only to discover they can’t also afford the required insurance. Same thing goes for major changes to your existing coverage like adding a teenage driver or moving to a different town or leaving a family policy to go solo. Crunch the numbers and figure out if your plans make financial sense.
For those with existing policies, you can at least partially offset increases by tailoring your coverage. Bump up those deductibles. $500 used to be the standard Homeowners deductible but now it’s not crazy to have a $2,500 deductible. Consider going to $1,000 deductibles for your car. Discuss each line of coverage with your agent and figure out where to trim based on your individual needs. Take an Accident Prevention Course online. Inquire about every possible discount. Updates to the major systems of your house like the roof or furnace can have a surprisingly positive impact on your rate.
For those looking to get covered for the first time, especially those in their 20’s, there’s no way to put this delicately: you’re screwed. Carriers don’t want new drivers or drivers without pre-existing coverage. They don’t want people with poor or no credit history. They don’t want your cheap but easily stolen Hyundai or Kia. In many instances all you can do is take the best offer you can find from Progressive, GEICO, The General, etc. and re-shop in six months. More (and less expensive) doors will open up when you’ve established an insurance history and when companies start taking on new policies. If you’re on someone’s policy right now (like a parent or soon-to-be-ex-spouse) and trying to branch off on your own give serious consideration to staying put and working something out. If you’re adventurous, consider alternate means of transportation like an electric bike or motorcycle both of which are very inexpensive to insure. For the less adventurous figure out if mass transit, Uber, using delivery services etc. ultimately makes more financial sense on an annual basis.
This dovetails into something important that everyone needs to understand about all this. When it comes to insurance you are not a person. You’re a set of data points that determines how profitable a risk you are. The things you think matter like your loyalty to a carrier or not turning in a claim for 25 years simply don’t. Your credit score matters. Your age matters, your 3-5 year claim history matters, your zip code matters, the age, type and value of the thing you’re looking to insure matters. It's not personal, it’s just numbers. Very carefully calculated numbers. There's no way to improve most of those numbers quickly but keeping those numbers in mind can help you make smart decisions that put you in a better position in the future.

Hi community!
I’ve ordered a Woodwind pro 24 about a month ago. I was super exicted about the grill.
It is my second grill, the 1st one was/is a GMG (relevant for comparison).
First problem I encoutered was with the controller. The screen would turn off 3-4hs into the cook.
I talked to camp chef, and they sent me a new controller (through loops and hoops on my side cause i live in Europe).
Yay, super excited once again. Now the second controller has a different problem. The screen turns off if its less than 45F outside, so i can’t start the grill. It just goes blank in 5-7seconds after you turn on the switch.
Currently i’m mitigating this by taking the controller off the grill, warming it inside for 20 mins, and then putting it back on the grill. Once it starts, it doesn’t turn off, so i got that going for me.
The other thing is that this grill does not put out any smoke if you are using just pellets without the smoke box. Switching settings between 1 and 10 does absolutely nothing.
By comparison, the GMG puts out bursts of heavy smoke each time the auger pushes pellets in thr fire pot.
The ww pro just burns clean with no visible smoke. Any temp i set, it keeps it without any issues, but with no smoke. Worth mentioning that i’m trying to smoke at 180-200F.
Am i doing something wrong?
Thanks for any suggestion!

Hey everyone, I need some help from the community... recently got into pickleball ~3-4 months ago. Long time tennis player... probably 4.0 now that I am older. I play tennis with a Prince Diablo with problend strings, and enjoy a racquet/paddle that is very control oriented where I supply all the power. Shortly after I started, I moved on from the Costco paddles we had to a real paddle... a Vatic Prism Flash. Played with that 15-20 times, loved it, but had it recently break on me out of the blue at the neck/top of handle (just hitting a speed up). I took good care of the paddle, FWIW. Bought another one just this past week, and playing with it the first time on Sunday, it broke again in the same place/manner after playing just one and half matches.
I'm playing advanced level events at our rec center, and hit the ball fairly hard but nothing unusual IMO. My overhead smashes are proper and I hit those full force (as I would in tennis). Anyway, am frustrated because I really like Prism Flash and don't want to shop for a new/different paddle but two broken paddles this quickly in this manner is unacceptable. So I have some questions:

• Is this a known issue with Vatic paddles?
  
• Are thermoformed paddles more durable than cold pressed ones?
  
• Does anyone have any paddle recommendations for someone who likes a control oriented paddle, with good touch/plush feel for consistent kitchen play, nice dwell time on the face, and that otherwise feels something like the Prism Flash.... and is DURABLE? Bonus points for suggestions that aren't too costly as I'm worried about investing in this sport given what I've experienced so far (where paddles cost more than tennis racquets, which blows my mind, despite tennis racquets lasting upwards of a decade if you take care of them). I'm worried thermoformed paddles will be too powerful and force me to reshape my game, but am open to trying them.
  

Cheers in advance for any help you all can provide!

Asher Knives Spiro Silver Spacer

Detailed photos, info, and impressions follow.
TLDR; this is a fantastic all around knife. Slicey cutting geometry. Fabulous fit and finish. Perfect detent and a satisfying solid sound and feel that is exceedingly rare. Contoured, solid feeling, and hand filling ergos. Super steel. There’s a reason they sell instantly, and imo it’s justified. 3.27 Oz, 3D contoured Carbon Fiber 0.46” thick, S90V, 3.20” blade, 7.41” Overall length. L\R Clip. $135 and when available ships from the USA.
https://imgur.com/a/UKPTmQh

Asher History

Asher Knives was founded in 2019 by Justin Cotton and named after his son, Asher. Currently selling knives directly on Asherknives.com. Knives come in waves and generally sell out quickly. As I’m writing this, there are 5 silver spacers in stock. As I understand it some of the earliest models were OEM in China and then assembled in the USA. The current models are coming from Kunwu as completed knives. I’ve been looking lustfully at the silver CF since I’ve seen it but just didn’t know enough about the knife in such a crowded market to put in the effort and land one. Because it’s hard to do.
This is the first and only Asher Knife I’ve handled. I’ve had this knife for 10 days now, and it was like new when I received it. It’s been carried and used every day, though not exclusively. I’m not a monogamous type with any knife. For my perspective, I’ve owned several hundred knives, $8-800. Mostly high end American, Chinese, Japanese, Latin American, and Taiwanese production knives. Lots of custom fixed blades.
The Spiro really doesn’t need any more hype. The market is already rabid in demand for it. Alas, here we are and I’m going to tell you it’s not overhyped, but it is underpriced. Surely there are some sort of savings going on by someone taking razor thin margins or performing discount services. No matter, the product for the cost is unarguably excellent.
I’m going to cover this in a few sections starting with what I feel are the attributes that make it stand out in the strongest and most crowded market ever.

The Build

This is the sturdiest knife of its kind that I’ve felt, a polymer handle material over steel liners. You can try to crush this knife in hand and it almost feels like you’re squeezing a solid piece of CF. Barely perceptible flex. I tend toward integral knives when possible because I appreciate a very solid knife. There is some magic in the solidity brought by the g10 backspacer cap design on this Spiro. I believe this is the first time we have seen this particular design, and I’m telling you it’s here to stay. It creates some special magic. It’s milled with excellent tolerances and really slides over the liners with tension and fits tightly in place. As soon as that spacer goes on, the knife feels solid, even before screws are added.
The bearings are recessed into the steel liners and the blade tang is flat and without detent ramp. Lockup and lockbar geometry are excellent. Detent path is very smooth. Drop is a little slow and stiff with a robust lockbar pressure, but otherwise free and without lash. The liner lock access is A+. Contoured, with minimal jimping that manages to be comfortable and still add grip, plus additional opening on the show side that helps to elevate the ergos to hand filling and excellent.
I’ve included the KUF 4.0 in the photos because the action and feel of the $400 Reate-made knife are remarkably similar. I don’t have the every day field duty any more but I had the 3.5 and g10 version and it was a better comparison for this knife. The mono lock construction that liong mah uses along with the precise fit of the two handle pieces cause them to have a very crisp solid sound that elicits a some of an integral sound and feel. The same thing is present here on the silver spacer. It’s a rare quality to have a knife with this many pieces that sounds and feels so solid. Lower weight, higher strength skeletonization of the liners. Thick silver carbon fiber totally nested over full steel liners. You can’t see the solidity of the build in photos, but it’s the top thing the silver spacer has for it over other knives.
I cannot overstate how crisp and satisfying the detent, action and sound of this build are. It’s extremely satisfying. There’s only one sharp edge and no rough corners on it. I did have some difficulty with the front barrel for the actual backspacer spinning during disassembly and needed to juggle two drivers.

The Performance

Relatively thin Kunwu S90V blade it’s a tumbled blast finish I believe. Starting with reasonably thin 0.098” blade stock with a full flat grind down to 0.0175” behind the edge. I did the measurements last and I expected it to be thinner based on cutting performance. Distal taper is even along with the rest of the grind with consistent spine thickness until the last 3/4” of blade, keeping the thickness behind the edge pretty uniform along the edge. The s90v has performed well through a variety of materials on a good factory edge. I would be borderline on sharpening most knives with the amount of use of put on this blade, but it’s still keen and undamaged. No catch in paper. The factory edge is uneven at around 19° on one side and 23° on the other.

The Competition

I’ve heard it compared to the atom because of the blade geometry. It’s a poor comparison overall, but the fact that tall, thin ground, thin stock blades are rare means they belong to a small subset of knives. The atom was chintzy for me. The scales being exterior to the frame and adding very little to structural rigidity is about the polar opposite of the silver spacer. I also had issues with my TRM hardware. I’ve found the hardware on the silver spacer to be excellent. Nice secure fit on the T8 for everything but the T6 Clip screws, which also felt good for a T6.
I looked pretty hard through my rather extensive collection and found very few good comparison knives for the silver spacer at 3.27 oz. This blade cutting profile just isn’t something I have in my collection very often in a similar size. The $400USD KUF 4.0, even though it’s the wrong size is the best overall comparison I have. The edfd would be closer. I did find that the Kizer Cormorant had nearly the same cutting edge profile and size. The cormorant ends with slightly more belly and higher at the tip. The handles are much different. Couple of other popular knives that are very appropriate size comparisons, the Hogue Deka in CF and the benchmade 940 just because it’s well known, but they do both share a nice, long flat section at the handle half of the blade before any belly starts and a similar overall size. Some other similar knives: CIVIVI Altus in micarta and beautiful Damascus comes in around $90 USD, falls short on blade steel and build strength but it shares excellent blade grind, ergos and value. The S35VN, Titanium and Purple fat carbon CJRB Pyrite is a pillar construction handle that retailed for $200 USD. It’s actually a knife I enjoy, at a much lower cost, but it loses to every way to the Silver spacer except the fidget factor of the button lock. The 20CV, Carbon Fiber and Titanium Build of the WE Esprit will set you back $215 retail and is the strongest comparison here against the silver spacer. It exceeds the silver spacer in handle materials with titanium instead of steel, but the S90V is arguably the better choice. I have seen these down near 150 USD which is very close to the silver spacer at 135, but they’re getting harder to find. Designed by Ray Laconico, this has the same kind of melt in your hand, gentle contours as the Spiro. The blade stock is a little thicker but the grind is excellent and performance is similar. If you like this m, you’ll love the silver spacer and vice versa. The silver spacer is a bit more hand filling.

The Shape

It’s a boring blade shape and really the overall look for me is very boring. Like a Ray Laconico design, they have never really clicked with me until I have one in hand. The kind of minimal organic curves that just fit and make you go, “huh” when you grip it the first time. It accommodates my size large hands, barely. I’d say large hands are the limit for a full, albeit cramped grip. I am not a fan of the hole in the blade, aesthetically or functionally. It does provide a little extra weight relief. I find it to be too large. It’s annoying if an entire thumb or finger slips into the opening during deployment. It’s not a complaint unique to this Spiro for me, and more of a nitpick. I also think a smaller hole would look and perform better, again, subjective. The hole does work well for deployment and I don’t actually find it catching my finger. The length of the hole works well for thumb and finger.
Drop point blade shape and the tip being very centered compared to the handle make for a very well-rounded cutting performance. I’ve used this knife on all sorts of standard cutting tasks for me. It did great upside down and using the tip to cut the stitches to remove tags from clothing while the spine slides on the fabric. Cutting paper and plastic food and drink cartons in half. I don’t generally have much need to cut cardboard, but I did some cardboard for the abrasive wear. It cut well. Penetrates well. No change to the stonewash finish or anything I can feel on paper on the edge. Enjoyable to slide through cardboard with the geometry. Cut rubber tubing. Lots of polymailer and packaging. Several different kinds of dog treats. Molleja. Soft and hard cheeses. Salami. Mule tape. Whipper-sniper line. I even carved on some well seasoned hickory that’s eventually going to become a spoon. A little of the dreaded box tape. I’d say it’s a jack of all trades. Has a sharp enough point to be useful.
I’m not in any way associated with Kunwu and everything here is my own opinion and experience.

Measured stats and info

Brand - Asher Knives Model Name - Spiro Silver Spacer Retail USD - 135 Maker - Kunwu Designer - Justin Cotton Construction - Backcap Steel - S90V Grind - Flat Edge - Factory Pivot - Bearings Blade Shape - Drop Point Lock - Liner Handle Material - Carbon Fiber over Steel Liners Handle Length (in) - 4.211 Blade Length (in) - 3.203 Cutting Edge (in) - 3.188 TBE (in) - 0.0175 Height (in) - 1.322 Pivot Width (in) - 0.474 Handle Width (in) - 0.460 Blade Stock (in) - 0.098 Overall Length (in) - 7.414 Weight (Oz) - 3.27 Ratio: Cutting Edge:Weight (In/Oz) - 0.97 Ratio: Blade:Handle (In/In) - 0.761 Hardware - Steel Blade Finish - Stonewash Origin - China

I offer a challenge to you and your friend, in the other room I have a row of 16 mailboxes and each box randomly starts with the flag up or down. One mailbox has a $20 bill while the rest are empty. When you're ready I will bring your friend into the room and tell them which mailbox the money is in, they will select one box to which I will swap the state of the flag, then your friend will exit the other side of the room and I will bring you in. You get to select one mail box and you win whatever is in it. What strategy can you and your friend come up with to maximize your odds of getting the money assuming the only information your friend can pass to you takes the form of the flag states?(ie no cheating with your own markings and such)

This list is meant to be a quick general guide to LEDs that widely use or discussed in the world of flashlights as of 2024 - Updated list originally created by u/Virisenox_.
Information comes from a mix of specsheets, tests here on BLF, and experience using these emitters. This list is available on BLF
For a more detailed look at many of these emitters, check out this excellent Reddit post by u/alumenum
*Output numbers given here are usually the maximum possible, not necessarily the output you'll get in real-world flashlights.

USEFUL TERMS:

• Emitter: The component that produces light (Light-Emitting Diode in this case)
• Die: The actual light-emitting portion of an LED
• Phosphor: The yellowish layer seen on white emitters, this is layered on top of a blue LED and produces yellow/orange light, mixing and allowing for a true white LED.
  • LES: Light-Emitting Surface, area (in mm²) that actually shines to produce light. Smaller LES = more intensity per lumen.
• Thermal Pad: Small metal pads underneath the LED that dissipate heat, and act as electrical leads
• Dome: A silicone domelike lens on top of the die that increases output and produces a floodier beam
• Vf: Forward voltage, the voltage at which an LED is designed to operate (usually 3v, 6v or 12v)
• Package: The total size of the LED chip (in millimeters x millimeters)
  • Footprint: For soldering purposes, the size/shape of the electrical pads underneath the LED, expressed as mm*mm (for example, a 5050 emitter is 5.0mm by 5.0mm) - this list is organized by LED footprint
• MCPCB: Copper or aluminum circuit board that allows the LED to be wired to the driver, and provides heatsinking
  • DTP: Direct Thermal Path, an LED + PCB construction that allows for heat to be directly drawn from LED into host. Important for high-power flashlights
• Luminous Efficacy: The amount of light (Lumens) produced at a certain power level (Watts)
• CRI: Color-Rendering Index, or (basically) how well colors are rendered by a light source.
  • Ra: Average of the rendered colors R1-R8 (specific industry-standard shades) - Interchangeable with CRI (ex: 80 CRI = Ra80). Each individual value is measured on a scale of 0-100, as is the total average.
  • R9xxx: A specific shade of red used to calculate total Extended CRI (Re instead of Ra). LEDs have a difficult time rendering reds, so this specific value in very important when discussing total color-rendering capability. R9050 is good, R9080 is great.
• Temperature (CCT): Color-Correlated Temperature - how "warm" or "cool" the LED is, refers to the ratio of red to blue light in a white light source, measured in Kelvin (K)
• Tint (Delta-UV, Δuv or duv): the ratio of green to magenta in a white light source (negative is more magenta, positive is more green)
• Monochromatic: Light emitted within a single wavelength (color) of the electromagnetic spectrum, rather than having multiple wavelengths
• Broadband/Narrowband: In this case, when referring to colored LEDs that aren't monochromatic - basically they produce a slightly wider range of colors
• LEP: Laser-excited Phosphor - white light produced by phosphor excited by a blue or UV laser, rather than a traditional LED. Very intense beam produced as a result.

MANUFACTURERS

Cree: American brand, manufacturing done in China. Long-time most popular brand for flashlights, and the benchmark against which others are usually compared. Usually aims for decent color and high output. Their emitters do tend to have green tints, some more than others. Popular emitters from Cree include the XP-L HD and XP-L HI, XP-L2, XM-L2, XHP35(HD/HI), XHP50(.2), and XHP70(.2).
Nichia: Japanese brand. Most popular for lower powered high-CRI emitters, such as the 219b series, loved for their beautiful tint and compatibility with XP footprints. Their 219Cs were popular for a little while before the rise of Samsung's LH351 series, and later the 519A that offers excellent blend of output and color. Other Nichia emitters that enthusiasts use include the E21A, 144A, and Optisolis series.
Samsung: South Korean conglomerate that makes everything tech related, including LEDs. Pretty much the only Samsung emitters we use are in their LH351 series, particularly the LH351D. Depending on the bin the tint can be a bit green, but they're high CRI and just as high output as a Cree XP-L, and also compatible with an XP footprint.
Luminus: Chinese owned (originally based in California), manufactures LEDs in China. In recent years they have produced many emitters popular for flashlights, with both high-CRI and high-power options. Many of their emitters are known to be very green in tint. The SST-20 is an XP footprint emitter that throws even further than the XP-L HI and is available in high CRI. The SFT40 is a small but powerful LED that produces a throwy beam, while the expensive SBT90.2 is large, extremely bright and throwy. Very common is the SST-40, which is pretty much a brighter XM-L2.
Osram: Osram is an old German lighting manufacturer. Only a few of their emitters are popular in the flashlight world; their Oslon series has a few emitters with long complicated names and very small dies. These LEDs are capable of high outputs, and their small emitting area makes them ideal in compact throwers. The Osconiq LEDs are used in a few lights as well.
Getian: Chinese manufacturer, relatively new in the world of flashlights. Their GT-FC40 LED has become very popular for being a high-CRI alternative to the XHP70. More LEDs may make their way into flashlights.
San'an Optoelectronics: Another Chinese manufacturer, new to the flashlight world with their extremely high-power SFS, SFN, and SFQ LEDs. The SFN55 in particular is capable of 10,000+ lumens. These are starting to become popular in lights that go for maximum possible output, though they are known to have poor greenish tint and low-CRI.
Philips Lumileds: The massive Dutch company Philips created Lumileds, known for their LUXEON line. No longer popular in enthusiast lights, but occasionally still found in lights from brands like Olight, Fenix, and Streamlight to name a few. They do produce high-power, high-CRI LEDs, but these aren't seen in flashlights.
LatticePower: Pioneer and leader in Gallium-Nitride (GaN) on Silicon LED technology, based in China. Pretty rare in the world of flashlights but more emitters are appearing in popular models.
Guangdong Lumen Pioneer Opto Co, Ltd: Chinese company that appears to be the manufacturer for the emitters sold under the YinDing, LeiTang, Rayten, and FireFlyLite brands. Though all the aforementioned emitters come from the same place, it's not confirmed that Lumenpioneer (LMP) is in fact producing these.
NiteLab: Chinese company under SYSMAX, sister to Nitecore. They have begun to offer several interesting multi-emitters that are available in many Nitecore lights.
Quick Quick Guide to the Most Popular LEDs: There's a lot of stuff down below, so here's what you should know about for 2024:

• Nichia 519a: The most popular LED, because it's the best all-rounder. Small, 3V, bright, high-CRI, great coloration, and easy to dedome. Available in a wide range of temps. These have made most other options pretty much irrelevant.
• CREE XHP70: These remain the go-to for high-output lights due to their ability to take extreme high currents and their decent coloration. Available in HD (domed) or HI (flat) versions. (Current generation is 70.3, 2nd gen is still common)
• Luminus SFT40 3000K: A warm, high-CRI version of this very popular high-performance throwy emitter.
• FFL emitters: The new hottest LEDs, offered by FireFlyLight. Unique round dies, high output, high CRI, and super rosy tints. May be very popular amongst enthusiasts going forward. 351A competes with 519a, 505A competes with SFT40.
• Nichia 719a: This emitter was supposed to be cool, but proved underwhelming.
• Getian GTFC40: Still nice but now overshadowed by the XHP70.3HI, which is available in warmer variants and offers superior performance.

CREE:

3535 emitters:

• XP-L HD: Domed, pretty typical when it comes to output, about 1200 lumens max. Very common. Largely superseded by LH351D
• XP-L2: Domed, more phosphor area than the XP-L. A bit higher output, but worse tint. Not popular
• XP-L HI: An XP-L without a dome. More throw, less tint shift. Still bright at 1200 lumens, great natural tint with CRI 80+ versions available in warm temps. Very popular, recently updated with flipchip version that has slightly better performance but worse tint
• XP-G2: Smaller dome than XP-L, and smaller die. Less output too. Good for tiny multi-emitter lights.
• XP-G3: Largerized XP-G, more phosphor, more lumens, worse tint. These are gross, nobody likes them.
• XP-G4: Available in HD or HI versions, higher output and continues to have terrible coloration.
  • XP-G4 Pro9: A variant using CREE's "Pro9 Tech" which basically adds a ton of red phosphor to game the CRI system. Not popular per se, but worth a mention as these are not as good as specs would lead one to believe
• XP-E2: Update to now-obsolete XR-E, the XP-E is notable for its many different unique colored variants. White version is unremarkable and uncompetitive; we only care about the colors
• XP-P: Small, very intense emitters with good coloration and medium to high-CRI. A strong competitor to Osram's Oslon emitters, but still not as popular
• XHP35 (12v): Capable of high outputs. Available in a domed high-output (HD) or domeless high-intensity (HI) version. HI version is popular for its great tint and decently high CRI (often 80+), makes for an excellent warm thrower LED in 4000K. Recently discontinued but still very in-demand
• XHP35.2 HI (3v, 6v, 12v): Update that offers higher output/efficiency and rosier tint at the expense of some CRI. I haven't seen these around much as the colors aren't as good as the previous version, especially on the 3v variant

5050 emitters:

• XM-L2 (3V): Similar to the XP-L, but in a slightly bigger form factor. Once extremely common for great balance of performance, decent color and cost. Recently updated by Cree, newer versions are extremely efficient and even brighter than before. Now mostly superseded by Luminus SST40 - however these may make a comeback with the new updates
• XHP50.2 (6v or 12v): A quad-die emitter. 6V or 12V depending on how you wire it. Fairly small but efficient and very bright and floody, up to 4,500 lumens. More phosphor, more light, worse tint than the previous generation. Lookout for the upcoming XHP50.3 HD that should be available in lights soon
• XHP50.3 HI (3v, 6v or 12v): A more efficient and domeless version of the XHP50 design, maintains very high output but with double the intensity. Supposedly available in warm white and 90+ CRI versions, should have better color than the domed version of the LED.

7070 (3v, 6v, or 12v):

• XHP70.X: Large, super floody domed quad-die LED which is very efficient and capable of extremely high outputs (easily 4,000+ and up to 9,000 when pushed hard enough). Available in nice warm color temps, and 90+ CRI versions are available in exchange for less performance. Tint is fairly neutral, though these are notorious for dramatic color shifts in the beam, with warm greenish hotspots and cool rosy spill. Most common is the XHP70.2, offering better performance is the newer XHP70.3 HD
• XHP70.3 HI: Double the intensity of the domed version, likely with better tint. Very high output and warm white, 90+ CRI versions exist.

NICHIA

Tiny emitters (3v):

• E21A: This is a 2121 emitter with no dome, just straight phosphor. Better beam than a 219C, but not super bright. Extremely high-CRI, R9080, and neutral tint that mimics sunlight. E21A quads are now largely superseded by B35A lights
• E17A: Like the E21A, but 1717. Both of these emitters are available in a wide range of colors, from 1850K - 6500K, and E17a has some fun colors like Azure (432-590nm band).

3535 (3v):

• 219B: The connoissuer's favorite. Not built for output, but they make beautiful beams and are available in high CRI, R9080. Known to have a very 'rosy' tint (negative duv), especially the SW45k bin. Small dome gives a balanced beam. Mostly be superseded by 519a, though they are still considered the king of tint
• 219C: The successor to the 219B. Brighter, but the tint isn't as good. Also available in high CRI. Largely superseded by Luminus SST20 and Samsung LH351D, which are brighter and high-CRI
• 219F: Basically another successor to 219C, not meaningfully different other than option for bins with R9080. Does not like being overdriven. Biggest point of interest is the super-warm 1800K version that is meant to replace sodium-vapor produced light.
• 519A: Very bright, R9080, pleasant neutral or rosy tint, and available in a wide range of color temps. Large dome and very floody, comparable to LH351D. Common footprint makes them easy to swap into other lights, and they are easily dedomed for more intensity and warmer + rosier tint. Everybody's favorite LED, seen everywhere and for good reason. 519a-V1 is the newer and superior version.

3535 (6v):

• 719A: Flat emitter with two dies stacked on top of each other. Similar color to domeless 519a, higher output, slightly floodier due to larger die. Brighter but lower-CRI (R9050) than B35AM. Performance on these is underwhelming, they weren't the XHP35HI killer many hoped for

3.65x3.65 (6v):

• B35AM: Four E21A dies, one of the brightest (~1300 lumens depending on CCT) and throwiest ultra-high CRI (R9080) emitters available. Very natural, sunlight-like tint. Footprint is a bit unconventional, being 3.65mm x 3.65mm, so it requires a unique MCPCB (no DTP available, limiting max output)

5050 (6v):

• 144A: Nichia's answer to Cree's XHP50. Different footprint though. Also no thermal pad, so they never really caught on. High-CRI but has strong tint-shift when used without diffusion. Armytek provides the Wizard C2 Pro with this emitter.

SAMSUNG

3535 (3v)

• LH351D: Common XP footprint. Big die, large dome, very floody, high CRI, bright - excellent all-round LED. These beat out the XP-L2 when it comes to output. They tend to be about as green as 219C, if not a bit more (hence the nickname "dogfarts"). This varies from bin to bin but tends to be inconsistent. One of the few LEDs available in high-CRI cool white variants. Good but superseded by Nichia 519a which performs similarly, still a nice inexpensive option

LUMINUS

3535 (3v):

• SST20: Domed, small die. Cousin to Cree's XP-G2, much throwier (more so than XP-L HI) and available in high CRI and many color temperatures. Low-CRI version is very bright and throws far, while the dimmer 95+ CRI version (4000K and below) is R9080. Known for weird yellowish-greenish tint, tends to be green at low currents, but bins are available with neutral or even negative duv. Very popular for its combination of performance, throw, color, and low price.
• SST20 660nm: This "deep red" variant of the SST20 produces a very interesting long-wavelength red beam that will appear very novel to most. May or may not be useful. The most popular red emitter for its price, performance, and wavelength. *Has 3030 soldering pads for some reason.

5050 (3v):

• SST40: Cousin to the XM-L2. Perfectly capable of being overdriven, up to about 9A. Easily capable of 2000+ lumens.
• SFT40: Essentially a domeless SST40, capable of 2000+ lumens while being very throwy. Great balanced thrower and performer. Available in a greenish 6500K, decent 5000K, or a high-CRI 3000K, with more temps on the way.

5050 (6v or 12v):

• SST70: Powerful domed LED, larger than SST40. Competes with XHP50.2, slightly throwier. Capable of ~4,500 lumens when driven hard. Very green at lower power.
• SFT70: Domeless, very throwy version of SST70. May be a strong SBT90.2 competitor at a higher forward voltage, less max output.

11x10mm (3v):

• SBT90.2: Large and extremely power-hungry LED that can produce 5000+ lumens and is very throwy. Efficient but greenish at lower powers, this is an excellent high-performance LED - but comes at a steep cost.

OSRAM

3030 emitters (3v):

• KW CSLNM1.TG (White Flat): AKA W1 - 1mm² emitting area. One of the best choices if you want compact throw.
• KW CSLPM1.TG: AKA W2 - 2mm² emitting area. Less throwy but brighter than the 1mm version, it can be pushed very hard for extremely high output when used in multi-emitter lights. Only available in 5700K, low-CRI version with nice neutral tint.

3737 (3v):

• GW PUSTA1.PM: "Duris" series of LEDs, known as the P9 (Osram loves to make things hard apparently) - Smallish domed emitter with decently high output. Available in a range of CCTs, only really seen in cool white. Poor coloration, strong tint-shift. Brighter successor to the P8 (GW PUSRA1.PM), competes with XP-L HD with slightly better efficiency.

4040 emitters (3v):

• KW CULNM1.TG (Boost HL): Also 1mm² emitting area, same as the 3030 version. Slightly brighter though, due to larger thermal pad that can sink more heat. Sometimes called W2.1*, this emitter has recently been discontinued*
• KW CULPM1.TG (Boost HX): Same 2mm² die as the 3030 version. Also slightly higher max output due to larger thermal pad. Sometimes called W2.2

The Oslon emitters are also available in colored Red, Yellow/Amber, Green, and Blue versions.
View this page for more clarification on Oslon naming schemes, as flashlight manufacturers and hobbyists use a variety of names.

GETIAN

• GT-FC40: 7070, 12V. A large domeless LED with 16 dies, the FC40 is very high-CRI (95+, R9080) that produces 4000+ lumens when driven hard, and is relatively throwy compared to domed XHP70. Available in a range of color temps including a super-warm 1800K. Looks like a waffle. Was popular but now mostly outcompeted by XHP70.3 HI

SAN'AN

These emitters are fairly new to flashlights, and while pretty popular, I still do not know much about them. The naming schemes are confusing. These LEDs seem capable of incredibly high outputs when pushed very hard, especially notable at these low voltages, but these numbers may not be realistic in actual flashlights. Still, expect them to be popular for hardcore powerhouse and hotrod flashlights.
3535 (3v):

• SFS80: Comparable size to XP-L HI or CSLPM1, but much higher output; very bright (almost 2,000 lumens when pushed very hard), available in a 4000K 85 CRI version.
• SFQ43: Supposedly even brighter, appears to be the successor to the above LED. Very green tint.

5050 (3v):

• SFQ60: Very bright, about 3,000 lumens. Competes with Cree XHP50, but lower Vf.

11x10mm (3v):

• SFH55: Huge domeless LED with 16 dies, capable of well over 10,000 lumens when pushed hard enough. Cool white and greenish. Large flat surface is somewhat floody. Easily swapped with SBT90.2, brighter but less throw
• SFN55.2: Smaller 9-die surface, about the size of the Cree XHP70.2. Small and flat surface means it's pretty throwy, and is extremely bright at ~8,000 lumens. Combination of size and output places it between the XHP70.2 and the SBT90.2. Available in a range of CCTs and CRI, large color variation depending on power level, generally quite greenish.
• SFN60: Supposedly even brighter than SFN55.2, apparently the successor. 6500K version has decent tint, and slightly green tint in 5500K version, but available in 3000K, high-CRI variant.

11x11mm (3v):

• SFP55: Massive 25-die surface, claiming 22,000 lumens from a single 3v LED! No detailed testing yet (most I've seen in a light is 13k lumens, still very impressive). Very cool white but decent tint.

LUMILEDS

3535 (3v):

• LUXEON V2: It exists. Brighter than competing XP-G2/3, 70CRI and cool white.
• HL2X: Another domed emitter in this class with high-CRI options, moderately high output, and decent coloration. Most interesting is the 1800K 80CRI option

3737 (3v)

• LUXEON TX: High-efficiency small emitter, lower Vf than XP-G. Available in warm white, high-CRI variants, has decent tint but a strong blue spike. Used in many small Olights (i3E - i3T)

4040 (3v):

• LUXEON V: It also exists, I don't think anyone cares about it though. 70 CRI, cool or neutral white, very bright ~2,400 lumens. Can take being overdriven without lasting damage. Somewhat better efficiency than SST40. Probably no reason to think about this one when the new XM-L2 exists

LATTICEPOWER

2323 (3v)

• CSP2323: The Chip-Scale Packaging emitter used in the Wurkkos TS10. Small, about the size of E21A, but brighter and very slightly worse color rendering. 3535 (3v)
• TN3535: Small domed emitter that competes directly with LH351D/519a. Available in high-CRI variants and is quite bright and floody, with a unique dome that is supposed to eliminate tint shift... which is still present. These likely won't become popular amongst modders as 519a is still superior

7070 (6v):

• P70: Large flat LED that is throwy and very bright, comparable to domeless XHP70. About 6500K, up to 4k lumens when pushed hard. Used in Acebeam L35.

LUMENPIONEER (Maybe)

3535 (3v)

• FFL351A: Designed and offered by FireFlyLight, this domeless emitter is available in a range of temps with a CRI of 95. Brighter and throwier than the 519a, with very rosy tint.
• FFL350RD: Round-die emitter in a high-CRI 3500K, allows for more throw.

5050 (3v)

• FFL505A: Round-die emitter that competes with SFT40. High-CRI in a range of temps from 3500K to 6500K. Very rosy beam. This emitter is making big waves amongst hobbyists for its unique beam qualities and solid performance.
• YinDing "Round LED": a flat LED with a circular (rather than square) die, very bright and impressive throw that competes with Osram throwers. Round die allows for nice beam pattern, with the brighter version having terrible low-CRI greenish color. Available in 3000K variants, and newer model with a glass covering. Nice beam due to round die, but poor efficiency and low max current compared to XHP35 HI and XP-L HI
  • The many variants here are quite confusing due to their poor documentation:
    • 3000K "egg" 90CRI
    • 3000K "egg" 70CRI
    • 3000K "gold" 70CRI
    • Glass version - newer model that performs basically the same
• YinDing "5050 Glass": Same LED chip, with a glass covering (but not the same as the above!) and offering CRI of 95 at a CCT of 6500K. *The varieties are getting very confusing given the poor documentation around their origin. koef3 on BLF states these chips are likely made by San'an.
• LeiTang 5050 Round: Another round die emitter, with a unique silica protector over the die. Greenish and ugly, good efficiency. Used in some Olight throwers.
• Rayten 5050 Round: Yet another similar flat emitter with round die. It exists and everybody talks about it but I've never seen it actually tested or used.
• LMP W5050SQ3: Another round-die emitter of the same type, 3000K 70CRI. Visibly more akin to FFL emitters than the the YinDing offerings due to the white silicone layer, as opposed to the glass. Offered by Convoy, produces tighter beam than SFT40 and cleaner with the round die, but inferior performance-wise to the 3000K Luminus emitter.

NITELAB

• UHi: This emitter appears basically the same as the many round-die emitters above, with an emphasis on high output. Decent coloration and very low CRI (under 60!)
  • UHI 20: 4040
  • UHi 40: 5050
  • 10, 50, and 100 - not sure what these are
• UHe: More traditional square-die that offers high output. Used in conjunction with the UHi emitters for the "MAX" LEDs offered in some lights.
• MAX: Interesting array that combines a central UHi with several smaller UHe dies to create a super bright emitter that can shift between flood and throw. Nitecore claims this is revolutionay but don't expect it to be widely adopted...

MISCELLANEOUS LEDS

5mm

• Yuji 5mm LED - Classic 5mm through-hole LED design. High-CRI, available in a variety of color temps.

FUTURE LEDS

Emitters that have gotten a lot of talk, but either aren't available or haven't been used in lights yet.
3535

• Nichia 219c-V2 - Factory domeless 219c that offers high-CRI throw in a common package.
• Luminus SFT20 - Domeless SST20, very intense high-CRI thrower.

5050

• Rayten 5050 Quad (3v) - A custom emitter ordered for enthusiasts, hasn't materialized yet. High-CRI R9070, ~4500K thrower with quad dies in a low-voltage design, should offer great throw as an alternative to the SFT40.
• CREE XM-L2 Flipchip (3v) - An updated version that offers superior performance, slightly different coloration as a result.

If I've missed anything or made any mistakes, please let me know below! I will also be working on a list of less common/popular emitters, and I have a spreadsheet with a list of actual specs and links to tests and specsheets.

I am writing this to introduce myself.
I am a 29-year-old turning 30 in a month. I have a political science degree and have taken a number of computer science courses, worked programming jobs.
I am presently unemployed, living with my parents. It's a situation where after High School I didn't really make a friend group and I became socially isolated incidentally.
I miss my life growing up where I had friends, regular communications with others and ongoing conversations, themes, narratives, in-jokes, whatever.
I thought that I would work to get money and then seek to enter a relationship leading to marriage. I thought back when I started to fall out of social connection around 2015 that it would not be very long then I would be able to at least feel I have a sufficient financial savings to seek to set up a "normal" life. This wasn't the case.
Now, I'm worried that I missed my chance to form lifelong connections. I'm worried that I won't ever be able to afford the homestead that I've been wanting to build for myself all this time.
I haven't left records of my thought through the years and honestly I struggle with a ton of different things psychologically, because when you have absolutely nobody to confide in that wants to see your progress and takes interest in it.... you lose your social barometer. Isolation is damaging over a long enough time even if you aren't aware that it is as it occurs, one day you realize that it's not a temporary situation but a permanent deviation from a life of social continuity. Finding your "start" in a new group and fitting the style of that group can be difficult even as an affable person.
I just want to make enough money to start my homestead. It's torturous that I can't, I don't really know that I would want to live a full life if I can't at least accomplish this basic psychological need. Ideally, I would like to buy a plot of land, several acres. Then I would build a house and a couple additional structures namely an Aviary to raise birds, a Kennel to Keep Dogs, a Porch that cats can enter and exit at will, possibly a stable for keeping horses, and a greenhouse to grow vegetables and flowers. I may also build a workshop or create an area in the house structure to serve as a workshop.
I would build a large, open room with tall ceilings and place a few pieces of exercise equipment in there as well as standing desks on castor wheels. Then I'd be able to work on my computer while walking on a treadmill, I'd be able to switch quickly between doing some form of online work and exercising. I would train to the peak of my attention and effectivity on a task and then switch. For instance, a 30 minute to an Hour session of language learning, then as soon as I start to feel my attention, dedication, focus, effectivity start to fade I would switch to something like taking a few shots on a soccer goal, riding my bike outside, doing a few sets of some lifts, jumping rope for a few minutes, etcetera.
The basic idea is I want to work from home, commute or travel as required. I can work in any type of social business coordination position or even many technical roles, given my experience as a software developer. However, I stress an inordinate amount about whether my skills are "up to snuff" because I am aware that I am not your traditional brainiac software developer that can ace leetcode. I understand code and can read it. Given a high-level explanation of the structure of code I can target and acquire the relevant skills to interact with that project. I can adapt, learn, but I do not necessarily fit the profile of what many people seek to hire for software work. I'm not a code monkey that you can blindly assign tasks to and expect me to complete. I need to feel involved in the group and I need to feel like I'm something more than just an expendable lacky.
I am a very passionate individual and I need to be able to transfer that passion into my work. I want to feel a strong sense of group identity. I want to work on things which either create exceptional products or have substantial social impact. I want to work as a project manager or something to do with Human Resources or something. A position that would allow me to follow an enterprise software development team from a high level. I want to know everything I possibly can about the product, work with as many people as possible. Whatever the situation will be, I cannot know in advance where I will land.
Presently, I'm putting in job applications, trying to target quality positions, but everybody should be well aware how stressful this situation is and how difficult the job market is at the moment. I don't have any hope that I will land a job that pays commensurate with what I feel I require to be economically stable. I would only begin to feel "comfortable" with my income around $250,000 - $500,000 . I do not want to live a life of poverty. I've been watching YouTube intensely since it released. I know how good many people's lives are and I have a broad scope on the general sphere of everything going on across the Earth.
I'm capable of giving all of my time, energy, and personal self-ownership to whatever work can get me towards this goal lifestyle. In fact, I think I'm incapable of taking a job without it consuming my identity.
I'm worried because I don't have a single person in life who supports this ambition to homestead in even the most general moral support sense. I see and hear nothing but automated rejection emails.
I'm writing this, dear reader, to get at least some form of moral support. Create SOME form of record which documents my life story.
It could all happen very quickly! Or it could never happen. I'm sick of being alone in this and the complete indifference of corporate America to the plight of those that need substantial income to feel fulfilled in life.
I want to be independently wealthy so I can focus on the things that matter, being my best version of myself possible. I don't want vanity items, I do not want to flash wealth if I attain it. I just want to have a chance of living this life. To be able to wake up in the morning, do daily rounds with animals, feeding them, giving them attention etcetera... do a morning workout, get dressed, do some work calls/meetings, focused deep-work sessions, exercise excessively, find a wifey and spend time with her, one day maybe start a family. Put all of my money into enabling myself to be happy, healthy, and capable of involving myself in groups and projects that have true social impact.
It's crystalized in my mind, has been for a very long time, but my parents and family are essentially indifferent, they could not care less what I want to do with my life, they're generally supportive but specifically they could not care less what I'm doing. My high school graduating class was 20 people and we all went our separate ways. I had tons of friends from random things in life, online friends playing world of warcraft, card game friends from when I was on a team playing yugioh ages 10-14, other childhood friends etc.
I carry these past friendships with me, even though there may not have been all that much to them. What I am saying is, it's probably unusual that a loner like this has a prosocial background and personality. My last job made me feel awful in general because it was remote, nobody turned on their webcams, people did not talk to each other in a humanizing way. It was purely business and very hands off, no sense of group ownership of the project. Furthermore, my team lead and project manager were frequently out of office or skipping meetings. It's traumatic to sit alone, earning nowhere near commensurate with what is required to live the lifestyle you want for yourself, and ultimately accomplishing nothing of true impact because there is nothing impactful to be done where you are.
I achieved High Warlord in World of Warcraft Classic without botting or account sharing on a high population server. Now, most of you must be saying what the hell does that mean? The others amongst you are saying holy God, this guy is a maniac. High Warlord is a title that is earned by getting more player vs player (PVP) points than 99% of players every week for about 3-5 months. This translates to 16 hour + days playing the game every day. I was taking college classes which went remote due to covid so I would do work during queues and play while watching lectures, etc.
Imagine being so silly as to pursue such a purposeless goal but to do it with such a consistency and enthusiasm anyway? To me it demonstrates that I fully engross myself in what I am doing, and I am not just willing but capable of going above and beyond to put in the time required. I just need to know that there's a group working with me that's taking the same challenges and there's an objective metric of progress, maker for completion.
When you do not have a group, do not have a community, do not have a particular project to attach yourself to. It's daunting, there's endless possibilities for what I could do and no clear moves.
I started a YouTube, Twitch, using this same name, but I don't have an interesting enough life to be making content worth watching is the truth of the matter. In the future I have a number of good ideas for social media content, if I ever get this homestead, and the homestead itself should have a few lines of revenue as well....
I'll either be poor, struggling to afford rent and bills or find a windfall and be able to live a fulfilling life doing exactly what I described. That's the binary reality and it's disheartening to carry that alone, knowing that nobody cares or likely ever will.
Any response is appreciated, even negative ones, because at least my story has hit someone's awareness.
-RestlessAmbitions

• Doge Days: It all started with Dogecoin. Originally created as a joke, Dogecoin caught Elon’s eye, and his tweets have since sent it soaring to incredible heights. His influence turned a playful meme into a serious investment for many. • A Shiba Story: Inspired by Doge, Shiba Inu emerged as a “Doge killer.” While Elon hasn’t directly influenced Shiba, the connection and thematic overlap highlight how one big name can ripple across the crypto pond. • Floki Vibes: Then came Floki Inu, named after Elon’s own charismatic pupper, Floki. This not only fueled the meme coin craze but also showed how Elon’s personal life intertwines with crypto trends, impacting market movements with a single tweet. 

• Pepe’s Unique Twist: The meme coin Pepe became legendary not just for its meme status but for its contract address ending in 69420, blending internet culture with crypto in a way that captured the imagination of traders everywhere. • $ELON’s Rocket Fuel: Similarly, $ELON’s contract address starts with 0x69420, a nod to internet lore and a quirky tribute to Elon himself. This unique beginning could be the secret sauce that sends $ELON soaring past the stratosphere. • Birthday Easter Egg: Did you know Elon Musk was born 69 days after April 20 (4/20)? This fun fact is often celebrated by the internet community and adds another layer of meme magic to $ELON’s story. 

We sold our 1^st property to move out to a bigger house. We have 2 months’ rent back which we must leave in a couple of weeks.
1st offer: asking price 950k financing contingency with escalation to 990k. We didn’t get this house. The seller preferred 980k with no contingencies (they had closing already).
I never ever thought if I offer more than asking price, I will not get the offer (lesson learned in this market)
2nd offer: asking price 975k. My Agent (buyer) encouraged us to submit an offer. I did my analysis and explained that the price is too high. We asked 950k with no contingencies and seller countered with 970k which we declined. It’s sitting on the market more than a month still “active for sale.” Usually, in 2-5 days the house is pending/contingent in that neighborhood.
3rd offer: our agent contacted the seller agent and sellers wanted to have the open house to get more offers. I said we can submit the offer before the open house. Anyway, seller wanted to review by noon on Monday. Two hours before the open house (Sunday) the property was pending already. I regretted that my agent didn’t submit the offer immediately.
4th offer: we wanted to submit the offer right after the showing, but our agent told us that we needed to go home, to discuss it again and later on to jump on the call to submit the offer. We drove 45 minutes from the showing to home and I got notification that the property is pending already.
In 2 months, we missed 4 offers, the last two because the agent delayed submitting and wanted us to take time to think more about that. In couple of weeks, we have to move out from 2 month rent back and no ideas what to do. However, I believe there are at least 2 options:

1. Leasing: $2,700 2b/2baths penalty to break the lease we have to pay 2 months ahead in case we find a house. Our agent told us it is good to sell in the spring and to buy in the fall because the market always cools down after August, so I prepare to stay longer in rent.
   
2. To buy a townhouse for 500k in the next 2-3 weeks, 20% down payment (we have 100k gain) and 15-year term. After 1 year to sell and to buy a house. In one year, we will be more prepared, and we will earn some equity vs going to rent and waste $2,700 per month (1 year).
   

Our agent disagreed with my options and encouraged us to get a short rent until August. We have two kids and I need to register them for school. I am not so optimist as my agent.
It is a very stressful moment for us. What do you guys suggest we do? Any advice/comment/ recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Is the 2nd option best for us? or, any other options?
Thanks!

No snarky intro today. Too tired. I’m SilverKappa. This is the RDA Recap. Let’s dive in.
INTRO
Frank Turner - “Photosynthesis”
INVISIBLES
Frank Turner – “We Shall Not Overcome
Cloud Nothings - “Silence”
Madi Diaz & Lennon Stella - “One Less Question”
Ride – “Last Frontier”
SET 1
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers – “You Got Lucky”
Tori Amos - “Winter”
Bad Lip Reading – “Hostiles on the Hill”
Frank Turner – “International Hide and Seek Champions
SET 2
The Power Station – “Some Like It Hot”
Bleachers – “Tiny Moves”
Auralnauts – STAR WARS SMOKING PSA
Silversun Pickups – “We Won’t Come Out”
WTFIWWY
WTFIWWY Live - Saint Francis of Atari (AI Priest) - 4/29/24
Tech Q&A - The TikTok Ban and You - 4/27/24

That's a new channel for the Tech Q&A stuff. GO AND SUBSCRIBE TO IT. I mean it. Go. Now! Get Nash up to 1,000 subs on the second channel!

STORY 1: North Carolina child's 'monster in the closet' was in fact 50,000 bees in the wall
STORY 2: Man injured after kicking bison in the leg while under influence of alcohol at Yellowstone
STORY 3: Karnataka prisoner swallows mobile phone during raid of jail cell, goes under knife to take out after 20 days
STORY 4: Ohio State speaker says he too psychedelic drugs to write Bitcoin commencement speech
STORY 5: Priest Allegedly Spent $40,000 On Candy Crush Using Church's Credit Card
STORY 6: Sheriff's Office says young drunk driver drove with tree stuck in truck
SET 3
Renegade Cut – Does Leisure Suit Larry have game?
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Gold Lion”
Kim Wilde – “Kids in America”
Godzilla Versus Disco Lando
Mark Knopfler – “All Comers”
SET 4
Pushing Up Roses – Why Did I Stop Doing Gaming Content?
Postmodern Jukebox – “What I Like About You”
STARSET – “Brave New World”
Buzz Lightyear in Mass Effect
Mr. Bean in Cyberpunk 2077
Planet Booty – “Dancing in My Bedroom”
OUTRO
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Snow (Hey Oh)”

Hello all! We have a very exciting new opportunity for our community members here at benzorecovery. You might recall a while back we started a GoFundMe to collect donations for members of our community to participate in a BIND [benzo-induced neurological dysfunction] peer support specialist training course. We are super excited to announce that due to our gracious donors we have already received over $1000 in less than 3 weeks. THANK YOU to all who donated to, shared (or even read) the GFM. We could not have done it without any of you!
What does this mean? We officially have enough money to enroll 15 people from our community in the one-of-a-kind BIND peer support specialist online training course facilitated by Choices Recovery Training. We will be taking applications from benzorecovery community members who are a) totally off benzos, b) relatively advanced in their healing journey, and c) continuing to actively support others and intending to do so even after their recovery is complete. If you’re not sure you qualify, apply anyway!
What you can expect from this course:
The following description, taken in part from the course info page, highlights the topics covered in the live-hosted virtual training: - Discuss benzodiazepine conditions for prescribing, use and discontinuation. - Identify the difference between substance use disorder (SUD) and Physical Dependency (PD). - Define, describe and explain BIND. - Understand the barriers & stigma that impede wellness and healing. - Define the role of a peer and develop skills to support hope, healing & wellness for Benzodiazepine Affected Individuals. - Recognize and identify boundaries for the peer and the caregiver. - Learn strategies to prevent compassion fatigue - Become familiar with methods for enabling recovery and healing - Become more comfortable with engaging in proactive suicide prevention and intervention practices
Those selected for the training will be able to sign up for upcoming sessions. Normally, the full training costs between $90 and $125 depending on available sales. However, as a show of support, the kind folks at Choices offered to reduce the cost by 25% for anyone signing up. With that discount added to your generous donations, we are able to subsidize the remaining costs of the training fees so participants are responsible for no more than $20 - and that can potentially be waived under certain circumstances.
Training & Application Information
Who qualifies? We are accepting applications from anyone affiliated with the benzorecovery community who: - Has completed their taper - Has passed through the worst of withdrawals - Is continuing to actively support others and intends to do so even when fully healed
When is the training? There are three upcoming blocks that are open for registration (be aware of time zones though):
May 16 & 23, 9am-4:30pm (MST US).
May 20, 21, & 22, 12pm-4:30 (EST US).
June 4 & 11, 9am-4:30pm (MST US).
Note: For certification you only need to attend one of the blocks. You will be expected however on both dates of the block and for the whole training day.
Where? Sessions will be conducted via Zoom. You can join from anywhere in the world - but keep the time difference in mind. Note: to receive credit, participants need to remain on camera through the training sessions (brief periods off camera are allowed) and are expected to participate in breakout room discussions.
How can this help you? The knowledge, skills, and experience you have gathered can be used to help members at benzorecovery and brought to other benzo support communities. As well, with a certified supervisor directly associated with the team (u/Alternative-Eye4547), you as a certified BIND recovery specialist can also add these support activities and title to a future resume or CV. This could be especially handy if you were unable to work for months or even years and may need to explain an employment gap.
Costs $20. If you are unable to pay, please apply nonetheless and we can see if we are able to accommodate your participation.
Where to Apply? Click here to open the application form
Any questions about the application, the course, or the team can either be posted here as a comment or sent to us via MODmail.

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/cra-clawing-back-54m-in-unpaid-crypto-taxes
OTTAWA — The Canada Revenue Agency is chasing down $54 million in what one lawyer describes as a “drop in the bucket” in suspected unpaid taxes tied to cryptocurrencies last fiscal year as the agency slowly begins cracking down on digital currencies.
In an interview Monday, Sahil Behal, a director general of CRA’s compliance branch, said the agency has roughly 400 ongoing audits or examinations related to crypto assets. That’s on top of the $54 million the agency says it reassessed in suspected unpaid taxes related to undeclared cryptocurrency transactions in the fiscal year 2023-2024, Behal said.
But one veteran tax lawyer and cryptocurrency specialist says that the agency’s efforts are just a “drop in the bucket” and the agency needs to do significantly more education about what cryptocurrency owners’ and traders’ tax obligations are.
“Fifty-four million, that’s pocket change,” said David Rotfleisch, managing partner of Toronto firm Rotfleisch and Samulovitch. “I’ve had multiple clients with multimillion dollar (crypto) issues … and I’m just one tax lawyer. That’s a small number.”
“Up until last year, maybe a bit before that, CRA had almost nothing on crypto at all. Crypto was a commodity, that’s it. They didn’t tell you how it’s taxed, that it needs to be taxed, you need to report it … zero guidance from CRA, and that played into it,” he added. “How are you supposed to know it’s taxable?”
Behal says the agency knows there is a lot more work when it comes to public awareness about tax obligations regarding the emerging world of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Due to a “high level of ambiguity” surrounding crypto assets in Canada, the CRA commissioned a poll last year that found one-third of respondents did not have a firm grasp of their tax responsibilities.
Cryptocurrency users who were tested on their knowledge of tax regulations scored barely over 50 per cent on average, the pollster also found. Over one in 10 respondents even believed cashing out cryptocurrencies into government-issued currency was exempt from taxation.
That’s why the 400 ongoing audits and examinations include 125 “intent to audit” letters CRA is in the process of sending out to Canadians it believes did not report income obtained through cryptocurrency trading on Canada’s largest crypto exchange Coinsquare.
Behal said the letters give the targeted taxpayers 45 days to contact the agency to declare any missing cryptocurrency-related income. If they do so voluntarily, CRA will waive any penalties or interest payments due. But if they don’t respond within 45 days, the agency may launch a “full scope audit.”
“It’s one of these approaches we’re taking, recognizing that there’s a lot happening in this sector. Canadians may be unaware of their tax obligations (and) to be able to better address the risk and support Canadians as well,” Behal said.
Major cryptocurrency marketplace must fork over details of thousands of clients to CRA, court rules
Speaking to the small amount of reassessments last fiscal year related to undeclared cryptocurrency income ($54 million), Behal said it is evolving at a “rapid pace” and that it will change its compliance measures as the level of risk for non-compliance changes.
But he also admitted that CRA doesn’t have “dedicated numbers in terms of what the level of non-compliance in this sector may be.”
Speaking to the Senate finance committee last week, CRA’s assistant commissioner for compliance, Cathy Hawara, said the letters were being sent to individuals the agency believed had unreported income after receiving a trove of transaction data from Coinsquare through a legal request called an Unnamed Persons Requirement (UPR).
In 2021, National Post reported that the Federal Court ordered Toronto-based Coinsquare to provide the tax agency with information about all its clients who had deposited or at any point held a total of at least $20,000 in an account since Jan. 1, 2013.
Coinsquare also had to provide CRA with the number of transactions and total earnings between 2014 and 2020 for its 16,500 top active users.
“We’re leveraging data that we obtained from an UPR in relation to a particular crypto exchange and we’re starting to contact Canadian individuals who we believe engaged in transaction and didn’t report the income on their returns to encourage them to do so, all the way to leveraging our audit capacity … in the highest risk cases,” Hawara told senators.
Behal said the Coinsquare UPR gave the agency “really good information” that it was able to compare to existing taxpayer declarations to spot any discrepancies. He also said the agency was considering issuing additional UPRs to other cryptocurrency exchanges until the government implements the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework in 2027.
That will compel crypto exchanges and service providers in Canada to report a trove of annual data about crypto asset transactions to the CRA.
“UPRs are litigious in nature. We do want to be in a space where we can obtain more structured data directly from reliable sources, and the crypto asset reporting framework will get us there,” Behal said.
TL;DR - Cryptobros are not financially literate and can't stop committing tax fraud, but according to the National Post, it's the CRA's fault for not teaching them about their tax obligations.