HI,
I have new neighbours and they have 6 to 8 cars and vans for 3 Drivers in their household. They are able to park 3 on their driveway and they park 3 blocking thier own driveway in.
There are illustrated as N2 - these are the new neibours.
House and N1 have up to 7 cars but can park up to 5 on the driveway and 2 on the street at a 1:1 ratio
House N 3 has 4 cars to 2 drivers and part 3 of their 4 on their driveway
I have 2 cars one per driver both off road parking
https://preview.redd.it/avz4qnu0tc1d1.png?width=1187&format=png&auto=webp&s=941facbc7d65befb6eb9da3d80eba900ed1cc900
My issue is that I can't safely turn right or left out of my driveway due to visibility, and I need to reverse into it, which is extremely tight. I have seen bin men go to the N2 door and say move the car as they block the road.
Note all street cars are parked half on pavements.
What can I do?
Edit:
Thanks for the posts I feel less like I'm overreacting. I also know they have parking behind their property, but I'm not sure to what extent. I suspect there are other vehicles there because there seems to be almost a rotation of cars.
I want to add that I am NOT a nosey neighbour. I just happen to spend 12 hours a day in my office, which overlooks the road, so I notice the comings and goings.
I think the van parked on my side (the red one) was a tradesman rather than a household member, although I know they do own a van similar to the one that appears now and then.
I will go have a chat with them and build a relationship, at least one that I can leverage in the future.
Edit 2:
A couple of comments asking why it is an issue:
If I want to turn right, I cant, I would either clip the van parked next to my dropped curb or go wide into their 3 abreast parked cars, I could do a bit of reverse jiggery pokery but the cars waiting would be pissed.
If I wanted to turn left because of N1 and the N2 Van on my dropped curb I have no visibility in either direction, we did go out but I had to guide my wife's car out and stop her when incoming traffic etc because of lack of visibility
If I went out and wanted to return, the road is busy and due to N1 and N3 cars and vans I would struggle to reverse in (N1 car in 3 barest is actually halfway over my dropped curb on the other side of the road, my diagram is off)
all vehicles are half on the pavement; this is stopping wheelchairs and mobility scooters (my other neighbour uses them), meaning the only way past is up the middle of a fairly busy road. However, this one isn't my problem

All, Need your guidance and help in order to set up an inter-site connection with Cisco SDWAN. I will setup SDWAN at the customer's site so they can access our resources, but need to make sure our network and the customer are isolated and also redundancy at both location . I'm considering the following. Please see the link and share your thoughts.
https://ibb.co/DpKSHDg

1. Clients in site A will be connected to EDGE A&B. 2. Clients in site B will be connected to EDGE C. 3. While maintaining the network separation between the SDWAN and customer infrastructure, IP addresses shouldn't mix. 

From the diagram:

• Site-ID should be identical across same site routers
• Every site facing LAN/Customer will have an IP block of /29.
• Each router will be part of VRRP Group 100, 200-> location A will use G100 and Location B will use G200 as their gateway.
• SDWAN Routes redistributed into OSPF so each Edges can share incase we lost.-> The redistribution of SDWAN routes into OSPF allows each Edge to share in the event we loss routers at a specific location, but we haven't assessed this especially the impact on the clients at Site B, whether traffic will still be routed to Edges A and B because of OSPF EX2 at EDGEC, or straight to the SDWAN fabric from EDGE-C.
• Customer traffic to be translated to our provided network's IP addresses when it exits the SD-WAN

Thank you all.

It happened very quickly. No one had any idea he had any health problems til we got the call he was in the hospital and how bad it was. His arteries were so clogged and mangled. He was scheduled for surgery the following evening.
The same night he told my mom and I that if anything happened to him he had $150k cash in his safe for my grandma. The next morning he was found cold and passed away in his sleep. His daughter has taken everything including the money in the safe that was for my grandma.
Given that there was no will but he told us the night before that the money in the safe was only to take care of my grandma is there anything we can do? His daughter is now blocking everyone and saying she’s not talking about money or anything and got a lawyer the same day he passed away!
I feel so bad for my grandma. On top of this my uncles have been taking everything that’s been left and selling it for personal gain when it was already agreed upon to sell and give the money to my grandma who lived with my uncle. It was just her and my uncle who passed away who lived in the house. It makes me sick seeing how disgusting people can be. Greed truly shows one’s character.
Any advice or has anyone had a similar experience? I want to help my grandma out but I’m not sure how or if “ legally “ there are any options?
Edit - This was in California

It happened very quickly. No one had any idea he had any health problems til we got the call he was in the hospital and how bad it was. His arteries were so clogged and mangled. He was scheduled for surgery the following evening.
The same night he told my mom and I that if anything happened to him he had $150k cash in his safe for my grandma. The next morning he was found cold and passed away in his sleep. His daughter has taken everything including the money in the safe that was for my grandma.
Given that there was no will but he told us the night before that the money in the safe was only to take care of my grandma is there anything we can do? His daughter is now blocking everyone and saying she’s not talking about money or anything and got a lawyer the same day he passed away!
I feel so bad for my grandma. On top of this my uncles have been taking everything that’s been left and selling it for personal gain when it was already agreed upon to sell and give the money to my grandma who lived with my uncle. It was just her and my uncle who passed away who lived in the house. It makes me sick seeing how disgusting people can be. Greed truly shows one’s character.
Any advice or has anyone had a similar experience? I want to help my grandma out but I’m not sure how or if “ legally “ there are any options?

My fiancé and I bought our first house last year — yay! It was built in 1951 and was sold to us with a “finished basement” and for a very short period of time after purchasing, it was. Then the water pooling started. It started slow, then soon after whenever it rained water would seep under the walls into puddles. It’s reached a point now where it would be unsafe to not get this issue under control.
We have spoken to a number of waterproofing companies and professional landscape companies, but both tell us their way is best and there is no comparable stories online that help us make this decision.
From what we’ve been told by these companies, it looks as though our house may not have been built with the basement originally. It potentially was built with a crawl space and turned into a garage then a basement. We took down some drywall and found about 3 feet of space on 2 sides with about 3-4 feet of dirt inside. We also found a basement wall with bowing and large cracks but more on that later. Most of all we found a ton of evidence of mold and water saturation along foot boards, studs, cement blocks etc. We are looking into legal options as we have had almost everyone who came to give an estimate tell us they think the previous owner was aware of the issue and was covering it up by “finishing” the basement with drywall and paint to hide cracked walls, mold, and water damage.
We just need help trying to decide what to do… My fiancé and I don’t really have any family to help so we had to clean out our whole 401k with a hardship withdrawal. We don’t want to pick the wrong thing and then be broke and still have this issue. Not to mention a few weeks ago on my fiancés birthday weekend, we had a septic issue that already costed us $8,000. (Worst birthday gift ever he said).
The exterior grading company is quoting us $12,000 to: - Remove bushes, concrete pad, concrete side walk. - Reshape, contour, raise elevation and slope away from home on 4 all sides, pipes to street s - Install 24 inch catch basin - Seed fertilizer and straw area rework. They claim it will fix the problem and we will be as good as new because water will no longer be getting into the basement.
On the interior side, we have had several quotes ranging anywhere from $16,000 - $25,000. - $18,000 for sump pump, full 4 wall interior drain channel, wall barrier and discharge line. This doesn’t fix the cracking foundation wall - $25,000 fix cracked wall and 360 all the above - $16,000 fix cracked wall and just add a sump pump with a small channel on just one wall. - $8,000 only fix crack wall, no waterproofing.
Here’s the kicker. That last 16k estimate came with a diagram the guy made to explain why the other guys exterior method won’t work and it would not fix our problem. Basically, the exterior grading can’t go deeper than the footer so the exterior grading will not stop intrusion below the basement slab or inner block wall and that it would help but not fix the issue. He said he’s not trying to make a sale but if I do go with the other guy to get in writing that “their system will completely solve my water intrusion issue and that exterior work will not compromise the already failing wall in the basement”.
At this point absolutely no idea what to do. We have to fix the cracked wall. We already have to spend another $5,000 fixing the water damage, mold, moisture and humidity issue but are lost on what to do about waterproofing.
What would you do? This set back has been a financial nightmare significantly pushing back plans for a wedding and children.
TLDR: Company A) Exterior grading/excavating/shaping around house perimeter, catch basin. “Keep water from getting inside instead of just guiding it out when it’s already inside” for 12k VS Company B) Interior sump pump, channel, discharge, wall fix, “Actually solve the problem by collecting water from all areas including under concrete slab and pump out for 16k. No idead what to do. 401k hardship withdrawal, tight budget. Super stressed. What would you do?
UPDATE! - (With Pictures) Including a link to pictures of the diagram and other trouble areas. https://imgur.com/gallery/basement-trouble-DT6NAhg?s=sms

Recently, I've put together a collection of notes on linear programming using Obsidian. The aim was to delve into the capabilities of Obsidian for mathematical writing. You can freely access these notes on my GitHub repository.

Obsidian Vs LaTeX

Switching to Obsidian proved to be a revolution. By using the right plugins and vim motions, jotting down mathematical notes turned from cumbersome process into an easy, fast, effective task. Compared to LaTeX, not having to compile or format in Obsidian allowed me to focus more on the content. Less time fiddling with format, more time thinking!
The major advantage, though, comes from Obsidian's emphasis on links and backlinks. One of the challenges in understanding math is the number of building blocks it rests upon, which can be daunting for someone new to the subject. Hyperlinking directly to a former theorem or definition can notably enhance the learning experience, since a first time reader (or even somebody consulting the material after a long time) does not need to remember every concept.
As a bonus, looking at the graph view for visualizing the links between different concepts is pretty cool.

Plugins I Suggest Using

For mathematical writing, I suggest the following plugins:

• LaTeX-like theorem & equation referencer: this plugins will automatically enumerate theorems and equations like LaTeX does. Very useful, it has just the minor inconvenience that you cannot reference equations inside of a callout (so referencing equations inside of a theorem is a no no)
• Latex-suite: this plugins will allow you to quickly type math equations with just a few keystrokes. For example, instead of writing `\frac{x}{y}` you just need to type `x/y`. This plugin will significantly speed you up (so much so that taking live math notes may become possible for you). I found that the default configuration is good enough to start, but I suggest you add more scripts to fit your precise needs
• MathLinks: to render math in previews and links (almost a must)
• Excalidraw: to quickly draw any math diagram you may need
• TikZJax: if you want to be fancy with your math diagrams and render LaTeX diagram in your notes
• Pseudocode: if you want to write LaTeX like code in your notes
• Code emitter: if you want to run code inside of your notes (useful to illustrate some algorithms, or for CS stuff)

I also suggest using vim motions to speed up your editing and making math writing as painless as possible

Learning about infrastructure diagrams. It seems that theres a way to flexibly string together ml models using flow based diagrams and new to me standard system specification language (https://primer.dynamobim.org/07\_Code-Block/7-2\_Design-Script-syntax.html) I'm assuming theres a standard implementation. Hoping the diagrammatic aspect of this notion might elucidate tensor..."flow" naming convention. Using a tool such as this: https://ryven.org/ I could jury rig a flow to code approach. However, I would imagine theres a common best ide for this (does this relate to vs code and .net). Is there one designed for the ml frameworks I'm familiar with? I see this trend/pattern in the software space in other places such as digital audio workstations, vcv rack, pure data, touch stone for media. Now google has released https://visualblocks.withgoogle.com/#/ is there a general version that was/has been used to create the popular pretrained architectures? Also noting ide classics such as ecclipse hint at this functionality. I really want to make probabilistic models using pyro and finally have an explanation for how it could possibly be accomplished... Is there a possibility that a hidden visual programming functionality available through r studio would make sense of its "studio" designation (which devoid of this function has sidelined its popularity). More familiar with python... hoping that there might be a way to avoid writing code to produce and fully execute novel models. To this end is there a way the type safe value of haskell might allow for immediate extensible modular scaling and self manage parallelism, or in the face of this programming paradigm, is there minimal value in type safety? I really really really liked the idea of haskell I can't seem to figure out why we'd want to use anything different in the context when automated compilation and interpreters are standard applications in the software stack.

DAY: MAY 17, 2024

• 5-17-2024NEW DATA OUTLINE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF ENDURANCE EXERCISE TRAINING Treadmill training, a form of endurance exercise, was found to be highly effective “with robust improvements in skeletal muscle citrate synthase activity in as little as [one to two] weeks, and improvements in maximum run speed and maximal uptake by [four to eight] weeks.” The full effect of endurance exercise training was previously unexplained until this study. Researchers sought to develop and implement a standardized endurance exercise protocol in more than 340 rats participating in progressive treadmill training five days a week for one, two,
• 5-17-2024CHRONIC PAIN SUPPORT FROM SPOUSE MAY DECREASE WELL-BEING FOR SOME PEOPLE As people age, they often need assistance from their spouse or partner to manage their health problems. Though research has examined the emotional and psychological effects that this support has on the caregiver, less research has been conducted on how it affects care recipients
• 5-17-2024WHEN DEPRESSION MEDS DON’T WORK, THIS MAY HELP YOU TURN THE CORNER Some 30 to 40% of patients do not respond to medications for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but half of them could be helped by a noninvasive in-office procedure. To mark National Mental Health Awareness Month in May, we talk to psychiatrist Katherine Scangos, M.D., Ph.D., co-director of the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Neuromodulation Program at UC San Francisco. TMS is a logical next step for many patients with an inadequate response to standard
• 5-17-2024CAN OXYTOCIN HELP AGAINST LONELINESS? FINDINGS FROM A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL Loneliness is not a disease. And yet it is a significant health problem. Depression, heart disease or dementia—people who are permanently lonely have a higher risk of becoming ill. The team led by Dr. Jana Lieberz have investigated how loneliness can be specifically combated.
• 5-17-2024STUDY FINDS ANTIOXIDANT DIETARY SUPPLEMENT MAY HELP COUNTER SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS Oxidative stress is known to exacerbate fibrosis and autoimmunity. In a new study, researchers from Japan have investigated the effects of a dietary antioxidant supplement—Twendee X—on oxidative stress and fibrosis in a mouse model of SSc, an intractable autoimmune disease. Given its effectiveness in other oxidative stress-related diseases including dementia, Twendee X holds the promise of being an effective antioxidant therapeutic against SSc.
• 5-17-2024AUTISTIC PEOPLE’S FEELINGS MOSTLY MISREAD—EMPATHY WORKS BOTH WAYS, RESEARCH REVEALS The idea that autistic people lack empathy is simply short-sighted and non-autistic people may find it just as hard to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, a study suggests. A paper in the journal Autism flips the script on the often-said stereotype that autistic people have difficulty imagining how others feel. Participants shown video clips featuring autistic and non-autistic people retelling emotional events revealed people without autism find it significantly harder to track autistic people’s emotions. It also revealed people felt emotions more intensely in the body
• 5-17-2024STUDY SUGGESTS THAT AIR POLLUTION PROMOTES INFLAMMATION IN THE BRAIN, ACCELERATING CONSEQUENCES FOR DEMENTIA Results from a new study suggest that long-term exposure to air pollution leads to increased risk in dementia in Denmark. “We also find association with noise, but this seems to be explained by air pollution primarily.
• 5-17-2024STUDY SHOWS AEROBIC EXERCISE PERFORMED IN THE EVENING BENEFITS ELDERLY HYPERTENSIVES MORE THAN MORNING EXERCISE Aerobic training is known to regulate blood pressure more effectively when practiced in the evening than in the morning. Researchers who conducted a study of elderly patients at the University of São Paulo’s School of Physical Education and Sports (EEFE-USP) in Brazil concluded that evening exercise is better for blood pressure regulation thanks to improved cardiovascular control by the autonomic nervous system via a mechanism known as baroreflex sensitivity.
• 5-17-2024A LONG-TERM KETOGENIC DIET ACCUMULATES AGED CELLS IN NORMAL TISSUES, NEW STUDY SHOWS A strict “keto-friendly” diet popular for weight loss and diabetes, depending on both the diet and individual, might not be all that friendly. A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) found that a continuous long-term ketogenic diet may induce senescence, or aged, cells in normal tissues, with effects on heart and kidney function in particular.
• 5-17-2024US TEEN DIED AFTER DOING SPICY CHIP CHALLENGE: AUTOPSY A US teenager died of cardiac arrest after taking part in a social media challenge daring people to eat a single extremely hot tortilla chip, an autopsy revealed Thursday. Harris Wolobah, a 14-year-old from Massachusetts, died in September after taking part in the so-called “One Chip Challenge”—which involved a single chip produced by Paqui, dusted with Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper peppers. The dare has manifested in several iterations over the years, with the peppers changing each time. The local chief medical examiner determined that Harris died of cardiac arrest
• 5-17-2024IS YOUR CHILD READY FOR SUMMER SLEEPAWAY CAMP? Sleepaway camp can be a lot of fun for kids, but only if they’re ready for the experience. And that’s the tough part—figuring out as a parent when a child is ready to stay away from home, and what they’ll need while they’re at camp, said Dr. Laurel Williams, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. A child who can stay one night away from their family might be ready for camp
• 5-17-2024FDA APPROVES NEW DRUG FOR DEADLY LUNG CANCER
• 5-17-2024ANTI-DIABETIC TREATMENT ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED RISK OF DEVELOPING BLOOD CANCER
• 5-17-2024HOW THE DANGEROUS LIVER DISEASE SPREADS AND HOW IT CAN BE TREATED Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. It is the way the liver responds to various injuries or harmful agents.
• 5-17-2024CLINICIANS REPORT SUCCESS WITH FIRST TEST OF DRUG IN A PATIENT WITH LIFE-THREATENING BLOOD CLOTTING DISORDER
• 5-17-2024RESEARCH TEAM DEVELOPS NEW AI TOOL TO HELP CLASSIFY BRAIN TUMORS
• 5-17-2024ENGLISH FISHING VILLAGE TOLD TO BOIL WATER AFTER A PARASITE OUTBREAK SICKENS OVER 45 PEOPLE
• 5-17-2024TICK SEASON HAS ARRIVED. PROTECT YOURSELF WITH THESE TIPS
• 5-17-2024ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE FUTURE OF SURGERY
• 5-17-2024RESEARCHER DISCOVERS DRUG THAT MAY DELAY ONSET OF ALZHEIMER’S, PARKINSON’S DISEASE AND TREAT HYDROCEPHALUS
• 5-17-2024KEY PROTEIN BEHIND BRAIN ASYMMETRY UNCOVERED BY SCIENTISTS
• 5-17-2024CELL TYPES AND MOLECULES USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES FOUND TO BE NORMAL COMPONENTS OF GUT IMMUNITY
• 5-17-2024RESEARCHERS REVEAL MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF DIFFERENT DONOR ARTERIES FOR CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFTING
• 5-17-2024LIMITING CERTAIN LIGHT EXPOSURE HAS POTENTIAL TO PREVENT INHERITED RETINAL DYSTROPHY
• 5-17-2024STUDY REVEALS THAT THE BRAIN MODULATES VISUAL SIGNALS ACCORDING TO INTERNAL STATES
• 5-17-2024RESEARCHERS MAKE STRIDES IN MICROBIOME-BASED CANCER THERAPIES VIA IRON DEPRIVATION IN THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT
• 5-17-2024STUDY OPENS THE DOOR TO DESIGNING THERAPIES TO IMPROVE LUNG DEVELOPMENT IN GROWTH-RESTRICTED FETUSES
• 5-17-2024WASTEWATER REVEALS SOCIOECONOMIC LINK TO ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
• 5-17-2024A MULTIFACED BRAIN MAP OF RHESUS MONKEY
• 5-17-2024MORE LEPTOSPIROSIS CASES OCCUR AFTER FLOODS, STUDY SHOWS
• 5-17-2024RESEARCH FINDS THE PROTEIN VISTA DIRECTLY BLOCKS T CELLS FROM FUNCTIONING IN IMMUNOTHERAPY
• 5-17-2024GUT BACTERIA ENHANCE CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY IN MOUSE STUDY
• 5-17-2024NEW IMAGING SOFTWARE IMPROVES LUNG DIAGNOSIS FOR 30% OF PATIENTS WHO CAN’T TOLERATE CONTRAST DYE
• 5-17-2024BLACK ADULTS AT RISK FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE LIVE IN MORE POLLUTED AREAS, STUDY FINDS
• 5-17-2024STUDY SUGGESTS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE UNLIKELY TO MOVE FROM ANIMALS TO PEOPLE
• 5-17-2024BARRETT’S ESOPHAGUS PRECEDES ESOPHAGEAL CANCER, BUT NOT ALL PATIENTS NEED ABNORMAL CELL REMOVAL
• 5-17-2024THE NEURAL SIGNATURE OF SUBJECTIVE DISGUST COULD APPLY TO BOTH SENSORY AND SOCIO-MORAL EXPERIENCES
• 5-17-2024NEW BLOOD TEST FOR STROKE DETECTION COMBINES BLOOD-BASED BIOMARKERS WITH A CLINICAL SCORE
• 5-17-2024WEB-BASED SELF-HELP INTERVENTION FOUND TO BE BENEFICIAL FOR BINGE EATING DISORDER
• 5-17-2024MARYLAND GOV. WES MOORE SIGNS BILL REQUIRING MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING FOR PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE COACHES
• 5-17-2024NEW TECHNIQUE TO FREEZE BRAIN TISSUE WITHOUT HARM
• 5-17-2024STUDY UNCOVERS KEY FACTORS FOR RESILIENCE AFTER TRAUMA
• 5-17-2024SCAFFOLDING SENSORS DETECT EARLY EVIDENCE OF ORGAN TRANSPLANT REJECTIONS IN MICE
• 5-17-2024NOVEL GENETIC MECHANISMS MAY SERVE AS THERAPEUTIC TARGET AGAINST GLIOMA
• 5-17-2024LINK BETWEEN E-CIGARETTE USE AND EARLY AGE OF ASTHMA ONSET IN US ADULTS DISCOVERED
• 5-17-2024RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY IMPACTS OF RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR ON HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS IMPACTED BY COMBAT
• 5-17-2024TRIAL HIV VACCINE TRIGGERS ELUSIVE AND ESSENTIAL ANTIBODIES, POINTING THE WAY TOWARD A SUCCESSFUL VACCINE

MAY 17, 2024

• 5-17-2024HOW THE DANGEROUS LIVER DISEASE SPREADS AND HOW IT CAN BE TREATED
• 5-17-2024NEW DATA OUTLINE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF ENDURANCE EXERCISE TRAINING
• 5-17-2024CHRONIC PAIN SUPPORT FROM SPOUSE MAY DECREASE WELL-BEING FOR SOME PEOPLE
• 5-17-2024WHEN DEPRESSION MEDS DON’T WORK, THIS MAY HELP YOU TURN THE CORNER
• 5-17-2024CAN OXYTOCIN HELP AGAINST LONELINESS? FINDINGS FROM A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL
• 5-17-2024STUDY FINDS ANTIOXIDANT DIETARY SUPPLEMENT MAY HELP COUNTER SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS
• 5-17-2024AUTISTIC PEOPLE’S FEELINGS MOSTLY MISREAD—EMPATHY WORKS BOTH WAYS, RESEARCH REVEALS
• 5-17-2024STUDY SUGGESTS THAT AIR POLLUTION PROMOTES INFLAMMATION IN THE BRAIN, ACCELERATING CONSEQUENCES FOR DEMENTIA
• 5-17-2024STUDY SHOWS AEROBIC EXERCISE PERFORMED IN THE EVENING BENEFITS ELDERLY HYPERTENSIVES MORE THAN MORNING EXERCISE
• 5-17-2024A LONG-TERM KETOGENIC DIET ACCUMULATES AGED CELLS IN NORMAL TISSUES, NEW STUDY SHOWS
• 5-17-2024US TEEN DIED AFTER DOING SPICY CHIP CHALLENGE: AUTOPSY
• 5-17-2024IS YOUR CHILD READY FOR SUMMER SLEEPAWAY CAMP?
• 5-17-2024FDA APPROVES NEW DRUG FOR DEADLY LUNG CANCER
• 5-17-2024ANTI-DIABETIC TREATMENT ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED RISK OF DEVELOPING BLOOD CANCER
• 5-17-2024CLINICIANS REPORT SUCCESS WITH FIRST TEST OF DRUG IN A PATIENT WITH LIFE-THREATENING BLOOD CLOTTING DISORDER
• 5-17-2024RESEARCH TEAM DEVELOPS NEW AI TOOL TO HELP CLASSIFY BRAIN TUMORS
• 5-17-2024ENGLISH FISHING VILLAGE TOLD TO BOIL WATER AFTER A PARASITE OUTBREAK SICKENS OVER 45 PEOPLE
• 5-17-2024TICK SEASON HAS ARRIVED. PROTECT YOURSELF WITH THESE TIPS
• 5-17-2024ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE FUTURE OF SURGERY
• 5-17-2024RESEARCHER DISCOVERS DRUG THAT MAY DELAY ONSET OF ALZHEIMER’S, PARKINSON’S DISEASE AND TREAT HYDROCEPHALUS
• 5-17-2024KEY PROTEIN BEHIND BRAIN ASYMMETRY UNCOVERED BY SCIENTISTS
• 5-17-2024CELL TYPES AND MOLECULES USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES FOUND TO BE NORMAL COMPONENTS OF GUT IMMUNITY
• 5-17-2024RESEARCHERS REVEAL MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF DIFFERENT DONOR ARTERIES FOR CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFTING
• 5-17-2024LIMITING CERTAIN LIGHT EXPOSURE HAS POTENTIAL TO PREVENT INHERITED RETINAL DYSTROPHY
• 5-17-2024STUDY REVEALS THAT THE BRAIN MODULATES VISUAL SIGNALS ACCORDING TO INTERNAL STATES
• 5-17-2024RESEARCHERS MAKE STRIDES IN MICROBIOME-BASED CANCER THERAPIES VIA IRON DEPRIVATION IN THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT
• 5-17-2024STUDY OPENS THE DOOR TO DESIGNING THERAPIES TO IMPROVE LUNG DEVELOPMENT IN GROWTH-RESTRICTED FETUSES
• 5-17-2024WASTEWATER REVEALS SOCIOECONOMIC LINK TO ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
• 5-17-2024A MULTIFACED BRAIN MAP OF RHESUS MONKEY
• 5-17-2024MORE LEPTOSPIROSIS CASES OCCUR AFTER FLOODS, STUDY SHOWS
• 5-17-2024RESEARCH FINDS THE PROTEIN VISTA DIRECTLY BLOCKS T CELLS FROM FUNCTIONING IN IMMUNOTHERAPY
• 5-17-2024GUT BACTERIA ENHANCE CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY IN MOUSE STUDY
• 5-17-2024NEW IMAGING SOFTWARE IMPROVES LUNG DIAGNOSIS FOR 30% OF PATIENTS WHO CAN’T TOLERATE CONTRAST DYE
• 5-17-2024BLACK ADULTS AT RISK FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE LIVE IN MORE POLLUTED AREAS, STUDY FINDS
• 5-17-2024STUDY SUGGESTS CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE UNLIKELY TO MOVE FROM ANIMALS TO PEOPLE
• 5-17-2024BARRETT’S ESOPHAGUS PRECEDES ESOPHAGEAL CANCER, BUT NOT ALL PATIENTS NEED ABNORMAL CELL REMOVAL
• 5-17-2024THE NEURAL SIGNATURE OF SUBJECTIVE DISGUST COULD APPLY TO BOTH SENSORY AND SOCIO-MORAL EXPERIENCES
• 5-17-2024NEW BLOOD TEST FOR STROKE DETECTION COMBINES BLOOD-BASED BIOMARKERS WITH A CLINICAL SCORE
• 5-17-2024WEB-BASED SELF-HELP INTERVENTION FOUND TO BE BENEFICIAL FOR BINGE EATING DISORDER
• 5-17-2024MARYLAND GOV. WES MOORE SIGNS BILL REQUIRING MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING FOR PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE COACHES
• 5-17-2024NEW TECHNIQUE TO FREEZE BRAIN TISSUE WITHOUT HARM
• 5-17-2024STUDY UNCOVERS KEY FACTORS FOR RESILIENCE AFTER TRAUMA
• 5-17-2024SCAFFOLDING SENSORS DETECT EARLY EVIDENCE OF ORGAN TRANSPLANT REJECTIONS IN MICE
• 5-17-2024NOVEL GENETIC MECHANISMS MAY SERVE AS THERAPEUTIC TARGET AGAINST GLIOMA
• 5-17-2024LINK BETWEEN E-CIGARETTE USE AND EARLY AGE OF ASTHMA ONSET IN US ADULTS DISCOVERED
• 5-17-2024RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY IMPACTS OF RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR ON HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS IMPACTED BY COMBAT
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My street and the adjacent streets are getting the water and sewer lines replaced. The work has begun last week, several freshly dug/covered areas on the street, temporary water lines, etc. Not to mention a major artery is blocked and trafic is redirected on these streets.
And yet the City folks came to sweep and wash the fucking streets today. Cars towed, traffic jammed even more, water wasted, time wasted, as Tuesday there will be more open excavations and dirt.
I hope I’m missing a point, because I can’t understand why nobody stopped to think what’s the point of all this washing/cleaning.

I am not the OOP. The OOP is u/Throwra_JessComeOn posting in AITAH
Concluded as per OOP
2 updates - Long
Original - 17th April 2024
Update1 - 19th April 2024
Update2 - 13th May 2024
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AITAH For breaking my Number 1 sex rule with a handicapped guy?
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Obviously throwaway, I don’t need anyone here seeing my regular account. Also I’m in the US and English is my first language, any discrepancies are because I suck at typing on my phone.
So TL/DR for the “give me the bare bones, I don’t have all day to read on the shitter” crew: My #1 sex rule since high school has been no sex before the third date. I recently broke that rule with a handicapped guy, and now my childhood best friend is pissed and grossed out because she thinks I have some weird kind of fetish.
Context/full story: I’m a 28f. My childhood best friend we’ll call Jess is also 28f. To put it simply, I don’t think I’m any kind of prude, I just don’t really feel comfortable with casual sex, never have. My best friend knows this and has teased me about it lightly in the past. She’s been in a long term relationship for the last 3 years, I’ve mostly been single while working on my degree and starting my career. Jess lives in another state with her boyfriend, so we don’t hang out much anymore.
So about a month ago I had a first date with a guy I’d been talking to for a bit, thought it was going places, but he gave a WEIRD vibe on the date and I cut and ran early. On my way home I stopped at a local pub, figured I’d have a drink to unwind and people watch till it wore off. (Tipsy driving is still drunk driving IMO.) I get there and it’s pretty packed, Friday night and all, and there was no seating room at the bar. Took my drink and looked around, most of the “restaurant” side of the pub was someone’s birthday party, but there was a small table with a seat open off to the side, with a guy reading a book there. So I say eff it, I’m a social person and what’s the worst thing that happens, he says no? So I ask if I can sit there for a bit, I promise we don’t have to talk or anything.
At this point I feel like I’ve fucked up because this guy up close is the hottest man I have ever seen. But he just smiled at me and gave an enthusiastic “Sure!” A few minutes later of me sipping in silence and he says “I don’t mind talking, if you want to.” (Yeah I want to are you kidding me right now?) We talk for a bit and it turns out Mike (fake name) is 29, just finished his master’s degree in some kind of computer learning field (“I program computers to program computers”) and he’s living on his own for the first time. He apparently stops by the pub after work because he’s right around the corner, and he’s not used to the silence yet after living so long with a half dozen siblings.
We talked for a good two hours, about everything from dating (which he said he’s basically given up on) to hobbies and tastes, and we have a near total eclipse of a venn diagram on this stuff. I eventually sort of blurted out that I don’t know why he’d give up on dating, this is the closest thing I’ve had to a good date in forever. (Shooting my shot obliquely here lol.) He gets kind of an odd look on his face and says “Tell you what, I have to go to the bathroom, but when I come back I’ll ask you out for real.” Weird, but okay?
Then it all clicks, because he doesn’t get up to walk away, he just rolls. In his wheelchair. And I’m thinking “oh my God he wanted to give me a chance to back out of this without making it awkward how cute can this guy BE.” He grinned like crazy when he got back and saw I was still there, and I basically tripped over myself saying something to the effect of “So I’m free all weekend, what did you have in mind?”
Another hour later, we’ve got plans for Saturday, and he told me he has a neuromuscular disorder I can’t remember the name of (my degree isn’t in STEM lol) so his legs work, but the signals from his brain get misinterpreted so he doesn’t have the balance or coordination for walking or standing. The pub starts switching over to the youngerowdier crowd and he asks if I’d like to go back to his place for coffee to continue our conversation.
As you have probably long since realized, I did not get any coffee or conversation till the next morning and I have ZERO regrets. We’ve been dating since and I know it’s still early but I really feel like this might be the one.
Onward to yesterday afternoon, my friend Jess (remember Jess?) is in town, and we go out for coffee to catch up on things. I’m gushing about Mike, but when I get to how we met she just sort of got weird and edgy. I don’t remember any exact words but she essentially said that I must have a fetish for the handicapped since I broke my #1 rule and it’s the best physical relationship I’ve ever been in. Like it’s good for me because he uses a wheelchair, not because the guy puts in effort in bed??? She said I’ve “changed” as a person and left without even saying goodbye. 15 years of friendship and I’ve never seen her like that.
So here I am, asking the most objective people online (haha) if I’m an asshole or weird for being super attracted to a guy who uses a wheelchair and basically putting out immediately.
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Comments
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RefrigeratorHot3859
Firstly, you are allowed to change the rules that you made for yourself. Secondly, I do not get from anything you wrote that you have a “fetish” for the handicapped. Her comments are weird.
Sounds like you need to keep Mike and drop Jess. Good friends will be happy for you, and from what I can gather, that ain’t her.
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dubh_righ
She's got a weird fetish - for super hot guys who are kind, and well spoken, and fuck like a hero. What a weirdo. (sarcasm, in case it's not obvious)

OOP: Okay, yeah this made me laugh for real. Seriously, what a weeeeird fetish I have!

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brelywi
Hey that’s my fetish too! Here I was thinking I was the only one.
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ShottsSeastone
oh fuck that friend. i read this whole thing.

• you have 0 fetish.
• the guy is hot
• the guy is intelligent
• the guy lives on his own
• the guy has his shit together
• THE MAN GAVE YOU THE DOOR TO LEAVE
• Love comes in all shapes and sizes.

OOP: That shit floored me. He's so considerate in so many ways. His stories about his sibs are also hilarious, I can't wait to meet them. We're trying not to rush things just because it all seems so great, but they have a BBQ in May that he'd like me to come to and I am so there. He was raised around a lot of love and it shows.

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Update - 2 days later
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My first ever update! Yay! Uh, so if you were hoping for some terrible drama, I hate to break it to you that I don’t roll like that. No pun intended. So I do have an update on Jess and shit finally makes perfect sense. And I have a slightly NSFW but funny story about Mike, because this guy is just the best, y’all.
Okay, so first, I finally messaged Jess yesterday and said basically “I’m still hurt by what you said, but after 15 years of friendship I’d never forgive musif I didn’t at least ask why you snapped at me like that.” She replied immediately, “I’m so fucking sorry, I didn’t mean any of that, can we have a do over on lunch?” So I agreed cautiously and took a half day to meet with her today.
Turns out that those of you who said she was jealous, and that she might have something else going on, and especially the person who said something might be going on in HER relationship….. gold stars. She’s in town because she’s job hunting, because she’s moving back in with her parents for a while since her relationship ended. Apparently they have been having a ton of small problems adding up, but the biggest one? Sex. The guy she’s been with was apparently never great but it’s gotten to the point where he makes no effort at all for her to enjoy herself and then gets pissed when she isn’t in the mood.
She tried talking with him about it, making suggestions but he told her recently that it’s “emasculating” being given sex advice by a woman. The straw that broke the metaphorical camel’s back, however, was that her boyfriend has always had a thing for Asian women. She’s caucasian, but she does have long black hair. After weeks of fighting over their sex life, he suggested that they spice things up….by her dressing in a kimono and pretending to be Asian. She lost it on him and is absolutely disgusted by the racist fetishism and ended it right then.
So she had allllll of this bottled up and was hoping to talk to me and finally be able to put it down….. and I missed every hint that she had something big to discuss because I was gushing about Mike. So to her it felt like I was just twisting the knife by bragging about how great our sex was. She snapped, and somewhere between what I was saying and what she wanted to talk about some wires got crossed and she said something incredibly dumb.
She left without saying goodbye because she was mortified and ashamed as well as irrationally mad at me. Something to know about Jess, she’s an awful liar and she and I were the co-founders of our high school’s “foot-in-mouth” society, so I do believe her. I told her I forgive her and I’m sorry I didn’t realize she wanted to talk about something bothering her, and she said I was too stupidly nice and have nothing to apologize for, so I think we’ll be okay. For the time being I’m not ready for her and Mike to meet, because I don’t want to make things feel worse, and she agrees. But she’s really really happy for me. Hopefully this is just a funny story we can look back on someday.
So, on to how Mike almost killed me, lol. Last night we were talking about the reddit post and he gets this funny expression that I’m starting to recognize. And he goes “How do we know you don’t have a fetish if we haven’t at least tried it in the chair?” And I’m like “are you serious lol”. He said he’s never attempted it, because (cue tears) he’s never felt so comfortable with a partner before. Well.
His chair has what is essentially like a parking break thing. Or it should, it’s unfortunately broken and apparently getting them fixed is an expensive pain in the ass. He doesn’t use it that often so he hasn’t made it a priority. And there’s this thing called Newton’s third law, you know how every action has an equal and opposite reaction? As it happens, when you’re trying to, ah, get the motion of the ocean going, in a chair with wheels that aren’t locked, there’s a sort of counter motion that starts and fucks it all up. So we were going nowhere fast except for inching along the floor in his bedroom. And laughing at the silliness, which isn’t helping. Eventually he just stops and says “Maybe we can get some of those wooden block things they use to keep little planes from rolling away, like in Indiana Jones you know?”
I absolutely lost it. Like laughing so hard I’m in tears, he’s giggling half at the situation and half at my reaction, and everything just keeps setting me off again. FINALLY I get it under control, doing some deep breathing exercises and shit, and I look at him again. And he pulls the straightest face he can, and says, for the love of god, “Golly. This sure is uncomfortable.” Folks if I had asthma I would have fucking died right there. I laughed so hard I think I pulled a rib. Like wheezing and not even laughing anymore so much as weeping and making this awful “heeeeee” noise when I could catch my breath. While he’s laughing and rubbing my back and saying he’s sorry, he couldn’t resist.
So yeah, confirmed, no fetish here, and this magnificent bastard’s comedic timing might actually kill me.
I doubt I’ll update again, because there’s really nothing I can see needing to share given everything sort of worked out. And in the end, the real assholes were the….friends we made along the way? Idk. Thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post and for coming along with me on this absurd but brief drama in my life, lol.
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Comments
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Rustymarble
Obviously, Jess needs to have a twin with a mother-in-law invade her home with ummm....dog poo...and somehow there's a tree dropping leaves and and a 7 year old brat threw an ummm...apple? And then the cops came and everyone clapps!

OOP: And everyone's phones blow up! Genius, I'll finally go viral and get all those internet dollars I assume people are raking in, LOL
I probably will post an update on this account, but I don't necessarily want to bog down AITAH with my silly shit. I'm so excited and nervous. It's apparently a Mother's Day BBQ! which I didn't know because my parents and I are estranged and I never even seriously thought about having kids before meeting Mike. But apparently it's a lot of people and a lot of food and apparently everyone knows he's bringing me. Also, can I just say FUCK YES about his mom? They apparently have a huge one floor rancher and she just assumed we'd be sleeping together in his old room. Like none of that weird "you aren't married so you get separate rooms" shit. I already adore them and we haven't even met yet.

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Forward-Two3846
I think Mike updates are essential to AITAH 😆. I am so excited for you and I hope you have the time of your life.

OOP: Oh there is one coming. Oh my God his family, lol. I am exhausted already and it's only 1 here, and we have another day of this ahead! They are amazing and he is glowing like a fireball, the side of him when he's with family is so bright I need sunglasses to look at him.

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Update - 1 month later
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Hello again! I was going to post this on my own page but a few people mentioned that they think it’s nice to read on AITAH, so fuck it, here’s the “met Mikes family” update. And it's a doozy, or at least felt like it at the time for a girl who grew up with a small, dysfunctional family.
So first up, you know what people (at least me) don’t think about when dating a guy who’s always sitting? Height. I know he’s taller than me because we cuddle a lot, and he’s taller sitting on the couch, but I didn’t reeeeeeally get it. So we drive up Friday night after work (actually south and west, lol, but to my brain it’s always up) in his vehicle, which is modified to be driven entirely using his hands. Neat, right? He’s a really good driver too. One more green flag. We get to the house, and it’s…. It’s huge you guys, LOL like not a mansion, just kind of a sprawling one floor rancher. Real estate was wild back in the day.
Anyway we get out, and I meet his mom. I’d like to point out I am no slouch, I’m 5’-friggin-7. His mom is TOWERING over me. But she was the nicest lady ever. We go inside and I meet his dad (who funny enough is apparently the only short one in this family) and his youngest sister, who is living there with his one year old niece. She gets up to hug me and SHE IS ALSO REALLY TALL. It’s already a bit late then, so we eat and head to bed, I get to see his cute as shit room from when he was a teenager, and I casually ask “hey, so uh, I don’t know how this works and stuff, but how tall are you?” and Mike is all “I dunno, like a bit over 6’4? Been a while since I checked.” A BIT OVER 6’4. “So, is everyone in your family tall?” “…..kinda?”
We met the Nordic Basketball team he calls a family properly the next day. (Actually they’re Irish, but they’re blond and tall so it conveys the idea better.) The ONLY one of reasonable height, and still taller than me, was his oldest sister, lol.
They are also LOUD. Like not really shouting or anything usually, just, PRESENT. Mike is a lot different around them, but in the cutest way, like he just beams all the time and you can see how happy he is to be home. One of his brothers put him in a headlock and gave him a dang NOOGIE as a greeting, and got elbowed in the side for it, and all of them laughing. And his mom smacked one of his brothers with a rolled up magazine for putting his feet on the table. More laughing. Just… intimidating but in the happiest way imaginable. I’ll admit I was a little shut down for a bit, but Mike kept checking in with me to make sure I was okay, and they were all really nice, so I got into the spirit after a bit.
I mentioned this in another comment, but Mike has a special sports wheelchair he uses for, well, sports. And he and his siblings play basketball. And he is GOOD. Apart from just having a hell of an arm, he’s quick as hell. And this magnificent bastard that I love will absolutely, purposefully, GLEEFULLY run someone’s toes over. He AIMS for it. They all have this yank-back-the-foot maneuver that’s hysterical to watch.
So it was this crazy day of loud people playing and having a blast, nieces and nephews running around, and just noise. My ears are still ringing. The food was catered in advance because his mom “had seven babies, all I make on mother’s day is margaritas.” They also have a pool, it’s a bit chilly still but the pool is HEATED so we actually all got to swim, which was a lot of fun because I got to show off that I too am athletic…. I can do a backwards somersault off a diving board! Yeah. I’m a real catch lol. They at least pretended to be impressed.
We all stayed up late drinking and bitching that it was too overcast to see the aurora (boo) and I had the worst hangover I’ve had in a while on Sunday. We slept in a bit late, and then joined Mike’s family for the BBQ part of the BBQ weekend. His dad can GRILL, people. And he’s fast, food coming off the grill at lightning speed. I asked Mike about it and he laughed and said “there was seven of us to feed. Ever see a nest of baby birds? He had practice.” Which, fair enough.
I don’t have much experience with babies, but I got to hold his youngest niece (the one living at home with his sis until her husband gets back from deployment) and we had a light talk about kids in the future. I told him that I never put much thought into it but if they were going to grow up in a happy home like his and not how I grew up, I’m pretty sure I’d be open to having them with him someday. But later. I need him all to myself for a while first. He seemed really really happy about that, which makes ME feel all goofy and happy. I’m sappy.
We had to drive home Sunday night, but before we went his mom hugged me and said she’s NEVER seen her son like this, and thanked me for taking good care of her baby. And asked if we’d be back for the 4th of July or if we were doing something with my family. And I tried to be all “haaaa no we’ll be here if you don’t mind, I don’t see them much” and I think she caught on that there’s more to the story so she just hugged the shit out of me (vikings, all of them I swear) and told me she can’t wait to see me again.
My ears are still ringing from all the noise and chaos, but it was an absolute blast and I can’t wait to see them again in July. Also, pretty much sure Mike is the man I’m going to marry. I literally can’t think of a single reason why I would ever let him get away.
Anyway thanks for reading, hope you all had a lovely weekend, and those of you who got to see the aurora I’m happy for you but you suck, lol.
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Comments
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ERVetSurgeon
NTA. sounds like you have found a happy family to join. Good for you and good for Mike.

OOP: It's still pretty surreal. The other in laws that were there were all like that smiling hanging guy meme, "First time?" It was a great weekend.

Stormy8888
This story is so heart warming it belongs on BestofRedditorUpdates.
Congratulations, at some parts I felt like I was reading about the Roarke Family's dynamics in one of Nora Robert's JD Robb's Eve Dallas Novels, the whole Irish family vibes were just there. So lovely.

OOP: Ahahaha I don't think it's interesting enough for that, but I am glad people are enjoying it.

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I am not the OOP. Please do not harass the OOP. Please remember the No Brigading Rule and to be civil in the comments

Hey everyone. I am a university student working on a research project. I am quite new to LabVIEW (2 days of experience) and am stumped right now. I am trying to send GCode commands to my ESP32 running FluidNC via the serial terminal. I have set up the device in NI Max and tried writing a block diagram for it to execute a simple command. I have attached a screenshot of the block diagram. Any and all help is very appreciated. Thank you.
https://preview.redd.it/dj1hknepx01d1.png?width=1085&format=png&auto=webp&s=890b18e4f26947226bf3b791e966d80563463fdd

Art by u/United_Patriots, Go check his work out, he himself has a pretty good AU series called Nature Of Orion.
A Music track I wrote, Inspired by the contents of this chapter.
Back to the present, (future?) Ahh whatever, that special october 2154! Do you ever wonder why I chose that date? Well, October 13th is my birthday, and it’s the start date of dark cuts! Also yes, in fifteen whole chapters, we’ve only reached midnight on the second day.
As always, thanks to u/Ben_Elohim_2020, u/VeryUnluckyDice, and u/JulianSkies for proofreading. Those three have been a wonderful help as always.
Last but not least, thanks to u/EdibleGojid, my wonderful co-writer, without him, none of this would’ve been possible.
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[First]-[Previous]-[Next]
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Memory transcription subject: Taran, Investigator
Date [standardised human time]: October 14, 2154
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At that moment, more than anything, I wanted to peel my eyes away from the display. The vile scene… I knew how it would play out, how it would end. I did everything I could to rip myself away from the screen, but I just… couldn’t.
The footage coming in from the classroom had me enraptured in the worst way possible; equal parts fascinating and horrible. Morbid curiosity kept me watching as the drunken arxur hunted the clone, which Selik’s mind presently occupied.
“Youhhh… hehhh… put up a better fight than that kolshhhh did… I’ll give you that much!” Vriss gloated, already assured of his victory as the skalgan tried futilely to claw herself free from his vice-like grip.
So long as Vriss was boasting, he was spilling the information we needed. We couldn't afford for Selik to tap out just yet, we needed more time, more answers.
Glancing at the machine monitor, toward the vital diagram, it reminded me just what kind of pressure Selik was under. Red flashed out along the tail and chest regions and the heart rate monitor threw up several warning lights. It was strange to realise that it represented real pain she was experiencing right now.
Hastily, I tapped out a message on the software pager, ‘Keep him talking.’
The pager was our only line of communication with Selik even though, in reality, she was no more than a meter away, hooked up to this amalgam of wires that posed itself as medical engineering. She couldn't hear us or respond to any form of contact; Prauva had explained that the device blocked all incoming and outgoing information.
I gave a short glance to Selik. Her body looked still and restful; all except for her chest, which rose and fell rapidly, mirroring the clone’s laboured breathing.
“Whhh… What did you do to him?” Selik wheezed, the arxur’s grip on her was so tight that it took great effort to squeeze out the words. I feared her ribcage might just collapse under the arxur’s raw strength.
It had been a while since I had been reminded of the terrifying strength the aruxr were holding back. Muscles designed for the hunt evolved to overpower weaker prey… a description that applied to almost everyone.
“Ehhh… nufin… sadly… he’s not mine to kill… but youuu are.” Vriss’ tongue slipped over the words. We were lucky that he stopped drinking when he did, much more in his system and he might have ended up impossible to interrogate at all.
The arxur opened their maw, dragging their long tongue over the back of the skalgan’s head, they took their time, savouring the moment, not the flavour. They wanted to draw even more fear from their prey. A terrified whine emitted from the clone, to the arxur's apparent delight.
In the back of my mind, I had expected him to… go feral or something. That without his inhibitions he might start randomly killing anything in his path. I knew that wasn’t how predator instincts worked, but prejudice was hard to shake.
It was worse somehow, knowing that as he did it he actually had the control to stop himself, but didn’t want to.
I had seen similar things before.
I’ve watched security footage of the worst of the worst; rape, brutal murders and even sadistic torture. I’ve had them rewatched over and over for me to analyse each and every detail. The times when such scenes would replay themselves in my nightmares had long since passed. There were few things I wasn't utterly desensitised to.
I was plenty familiar with the aftermath of arxur raids too.
My mother's hand in mine, cold, waiting for rescue- I killed the thought before it could overtake me.
But this…
The room was a near-perfect recreation of an old skalgan classroom, with a holo-projector at the front showing the benign math equations a child of the federation might be taught. It was uncannily familiar to me, though the details were muddled; chairs built to the gojid format, not venlil, propaganda posters out of place, not quite belonging to the setting. ‘The Krakotl Exterminator Forces Need YOU!’
Not that Vriss cared about such historical inaccuracies as he tossed the venlil across the classroom, effortlessly breaking her over the teacher's desk. Blood quickly spread out from where a rib had punctured her skin, the orange seeping through her wool.
…This was something else.
The skalgan’s legs fell limp, no longer flailing. She was utterly helpless now. Without any chase left to be had, the arxur would soon claim his kill.
Glancing over to the clone monitor, the lower half of the diagram had turned from red to grey, indicating that the system could no longer connect to that area.
“Shame her spinal cord got severed, broken legs hurt like hell.” Prauva mused from over my shoulder. She looked somewhat entertained by the sight. I frowned, she had a callous attitude towards Selik all night and it rubbed me the wrong way. I wasn’t going to get on anyone's case for harbouring distrust for the killers, but something about her seemed off.
Somehow, Selik maintained her questioning, some hidden source of determination keeping her going. One by one she spat out the pained words, “Where is he going?”
Watching it all in real-time, knowing it was real, happening only a few meters away with nothing you could do to stop it. It was deeply, viscerally, terrifying. My scales were displaying their sickly green, broadcasting my current state of mind to Prauva, and at this point, I couldn't care to suppress it.
“Sssame place I am, the Kaal estate, for his hatchlings uuh…. coming of age.” Vriss finally answered.
The Kaal estate
Three words told us so much more than just where Klien was going, it told us who the boss was, Kaal. The CEO and founder of a small arms company based here in the city of District Three. Ironically my revolver was one of their products. With that information, all I had to do was look up Kaal’s information in a database, use that to find his daughter’s info, and I’d know exactly when this ‘coming of age’ would be. With a little help from Selik's knowledge about arxur culture, we would be set to, not only save Klien but to decapitate the entirety of Shattered Claw.
Mentally, I had written Klein off as dead without even realising it, but now there was a chance. There was hope.
Selik pushed herself off the desk, flopping on the ground behind it with a heavy thud. Her eyes darted around before widening in realisation at what she had done. She was cornered, nowhere left to run.
The arxur crouched over her, smug satisfaction evident in the very way he moved, “It'sss time you stopped asking questions you aren't supposed to knowhh… you’re gonna be a gooood girl and die quietly.”
I winced as he wrapped his claws around her neck. Her eyes looked like they were trying to escape her skull as he squeezed. A sickening, popping, crunch reverberated through the room as her vocal chords crumpled, fragile tissue and cartilage breaking under the pressure. She gurgled in pain, no longer able to scream as blood bubbled out of her mouth.
“Brutal, Isn’t it?” Prauva asked casually, unbothered by the sight.
I turned an eye to the skalgan, the way she… didn't care, It was one thing to be desensitised, which was common in former cattle or those who were unlucky enough to survive multiple arxur raids… this was different. Her eyes met mine, I could swear I spotted a glimmer of some sort of sick satisfaction in them before she looked away.
“This is my life. Every single day, I get to die. Over, and over and over.” She spoke with flat intonation, her sassy facade falling away.
Vriss released Selik from his grasp, looking proud of his work before reaching for her arm, pulling it towards him and clamping his jaw around it. With a twist, he wrenched it free from her body. He waved the severed limb in front of her, giggling with depraved joy.
“Just… food; a plaything to these monsters.”
She continued to talk, taking my lack of a response as permission to carry on.
“Some like to fuck after feasting you know? Have you ever seen that? Someone taking your dismembered corpse and shoving their rancid cock into it?”
I didn't even want to think about it. There wasn't any way I would be able to live with myself if I let this place continue to exist and exploit these people.
“No one should go through that. I promise, we’ll shut this place down and get you out of here.”
Prauva laughed, devoid of actual humour, “It’s… not so simple. I can't just leave. Even if somehow you get rid of Shattered Claw? It wouldn't change a thing as long as they’re still around.”
As Prauva spat those words out, she pointed at Selik. Her idle body remained on the bench, vulnerable and still, like a patient under anaesthesia during an operation, waiting for someone to pull her out.
Vriss tossed aside the severed limb and began to lap up the blood as it gushed out of her wound. “Hmmm, tastessss just like Iron Fffive… fuuuuck… how much did you drinmk-?”
Selik gurgled.
“Mhm don't answer that.”
My mind was finally made up. This was fucked up. I had fucked up, no matter what the arxur had done, nothing could justify putting her through this. “She shouldn’t be going through that. How do we disconnect her?”
“You can’t, no way out while the clone’s alive…” She explained, though I knew it was a lie. She had woken herself up just earlier.
“...Besides, isn't this nice, to turn the tables for once?”
Something churned in me, her rhetoric felt familiar. Things I've felt. Hatred I had kept deep inside. I never trusted the arxur, never liked them, but somehow… Those thoughts and feelings, when repeated to me from her mouth… They felt radical, deranged even.
I glanced toward arxur on the screen, now covered in orange, and saying his last farewell to the venlil below him. “It's beeen fffuhn… I’ll definitely recommend you to the othhherrsss.”
After everything I lost to the arxur, everything they did, and everything they continued to do I had every reason to hate them; To utterly despise them for what they had done, and I did.
I looked back at the arxur in the seat. She had barged in on my case, somehow managing to convince Ketsim to allow her to take it despite my objections. Her very presence infuriated me. What right did a killer like her have to be a cop anyway? What bumbling idiot thought arxur could be capable of anything other than violence and murder?
I could read people well. I knew she had to be concealing some sort of darker motive. There had to be something. Feasting on the crime scenes? Some grand deception; a trap she was luring people into?
Or at least so I thought; no matter what happened, that facade simply refused to crack.
She seemed to hate eating flesh going so far as to shovel plant matter down her throat when she thought I wasn't looking. She was ashamed of her scars, hiding them under human garments, using the weather as an excuse for wearing them. This whole place disgusted her just as much as it disgusted me.
Here Selik was taking the punishment for her species’ crimes just to save one kolshian she called a friend. She didn't have to do that. There was no benefit, nothing to gain. Not unless she genuinely cared.
I couldn’t find a crack in the facade, because there was none.
The arxur on the screen began to tear into the clone with his claws, ripping flesh, bones and organs. Splattering himself with orange, bellowing with glee as he murdered her.
That monster and Selik couldn't be the same. It was irreconcilable, that a creature capable of such cruelty could also be capable of such selflessness.
Whatever terrible rule the arxur followed, she was an exception. She had to be. Maybe she was just one of those so-called ‘defectives’, a concept I would have otherwise laughed at, but it was the only explanation.
I faced Prauva and my scales flickered red in anger for a brief moment before I took back control.
“Turn the tables? Is this what it's about?” I demanded answers, what justification she possibly had for what she’d convinced Selik to do.
Prauva wasn't intimidated. “They raided my world, killed my family, but I hid, I survived, and it didn't make any difference. I still ended up as their cattle. Only now, every time I get to relive that moment, wishing I could die. But every time, I wake back up on that chair. Every time, regretting the one time I survived. This time, I finally got the chance to do something back. It’s one, tiny, fraction of what they did to me. One death for hundreds of mine. So yeah, it's nice to see one of them suffer for once.”
The arxur, alcohol finally catching up to him, slumped over what little remained of the clone.
“How do I wake her up?” I repeated the question.
“Why should I tell you?” She replied, without a hint of empathy for Selik.
“I need her help, We’re trying to save an innocent father's life you know?”
“Really? One good deed is all it takes for you to side with them? She gets what she deserves”
I couldn't take it, I didn't care what they had done to her, she was just blindly exacting punishment on whoever she could. It didn't matter what justification she had, it was cruelty all the same; sick and twisted.
I reached for the cable that connected Selik and the computer, my fingers wrapping around it tightly. I wasn’t sure what would happen if I pulled her out suddenly, but it was getting clear that I needed to make a choice. I just hoped it wouldn’t cause any irreversible damage to her mind.
“Wait! If you do that… it’ll kill her!” She yelled, a feeble lie made up on the spot to try and stop me. With her attitude, I doubted she would have cared for Selik’s life. The vindictive skalgan would’ve probably done it herself.
“I don't believe you.”
I yanked on the cable, disconnecting all the wires from the computer in one go. I was rewarded by a sudden gasp as Selik shot up out of her seat. Her eyes darted around the environment, taking in the dimly illuminated facility, glazing over when she looked at me or Prauva. She didn’t seem to register our presence at all.
Shakily, she wrapped her claws around her neck, laughing weakly as she verified it was still there. As her surprise at being alive faded, she went limp, rolling sideways off the seat and curling herself into a ball on the floor, shivering.
She had cheated death, Unscarred, but not unscathed.
Looking at her lying there like that. It sparked some genuine empathy for the arxur, that memory again. I wanted to rid myself of it, bury it, kill it.
I had stashed myself in a cupboard, hiding myself away from… them. Clutching to all I had left of her… all that was left of her.
I turned my back on her. Wiping it from my mind, Selik was an arxur, she didn’t need my empathy.
My eyes returned to the footage from the classroom. Vriss looked like he wasn’t in particularly good shape, he was still slumped over the clone, but his eyes were open darting all over the place and he was shivering, twitching. He hadn’t just passed out, he was overdosing.
“Shit…” I muttered, and Prauva noticed too. We couldn't call help, that would give us away. I couldn’t exactly sneak a body out of here without being caught and I needed Vriss alive if I was gonna ask more questions. I had to go in there and figure out how to keep him alive without revealing myself to him either.
“Fuck, fuck, FUCK! If he dies before he gets out of here, my employer is gonna dock my pay.” the skalgan exclaimed under her breath so as to not be overheard by anyone nearby as we rushed down the hallway.
“Is that seriously what you’re worried about?” I hissed.
“If I don't pay off their so-called ‘debt’ they'll have me here forever.”
It didn’t surprise me, working for a business like this must be worse than death, so it would have been an empty threat. Instead, dangling the hope of freedom at just a paw's length away. That’s how they kept people trapped. People would do so much more for the promise of life, than under the threat of death.
I burst into the classroom, nearly slipping on the bloodied floors but I managed to adjust my stance and keep myself from falling
Vriss twitched and seized, rolling off the clone onto his back. I stood over him as his eyes briefly flicked to me, unable to comprehend what was happening to him. He reached a hand towards me in a bid for assistance.
“Shit, what do I do!” Prauva mumbled under her breath before looking at me accusatorialy “You did this! You have to help me!”
Selik stumbled in, her eyes set on the remains of the clone. She fell to her knees, staring at her clawed hands as if she'd killed it herself. Pain evident in her eyes as she mourned the non-person.
Something snapped inside of me.
My scales darkened all the way to black, matching those of the arxur.
We didn't need Vriss anymore; in fact, if he disappeared now, there wouldn't be any more risk of our involvement getting out. Alcohol poisoning in a club? Just a simple accident. That's if there even would be anybody to find it. Clones were too expensive to waste, no doubt they simply dumped the leftovers into a meat grinder, made burgers out of them and fed them back to their clients or something else equally fucked up.
Monsters like Vriss deserved no empathy.
What a miserable creature one must be, to derive pleasure from another's suffering…
“Why should I help you?” I echoed her words back to her.
“What!?” She stared at me, wide-eyed in shock.
“He deserves this, doesn't he?” I quoted her again.
The arxur’s belly twitched, orange puke leaking from the corners of his mouth before falling back into his airways, blocking them. I watched as he began to drown in the blood he’d spilled, choking down his last meal.
“But what about me? You have to help me!” She begged, her words falling on deaf ears.
“Word of advice, clean up his body before anyone notices.”
“You think you can just get away with this? I’ll tell the-”
“Who would you tell? Your boss? The gang? I’d keep your mouth shut and your head down if you want to live long enough to watch me burn this place to the ground.”
As Selik sobbed, and Vriss suffocated, I remained silent, watching.
A thought bubbled up, strange next to all the angry, hateful, confused and conflicted emotions I felt. A question, sober, but no less cold in its delivery.
“You ever wonder what it would be like if you were born an arxur? Who you'd be? Would you still be the same person, or… would you be like every other arxur?”
Prauva had the audacity to scoff, my meaning failing to penetrate her thick skull. “Are you gonna tell me that I’d be just like her?”
“No,” I said flatly.
I stepped toward Selik, who had gotten a fair bit of blood on her. I’d have to take her through the showers before we left, I put a hand on her good shoulder. Selik, claws shaking, let go of the body, wordlessly understanding my order. It was time for us to leave.
The monster at my feet finally became still. I felt nothing as it died, eyes silently begging me for mercy as the life faded from them.
I turned away from Prauva.
“You'd be just like him.”
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