With the Walk Away option for Arb1 and Arb2 both parties would mutually agree to drop the cases against each other. If srneq does this then you can remove $175M from the $235M in liabilities along with removing $125M from srneq's Assets of over $1B.
Let's say this happens. Our liabilities would only be $60M with close, if not, $1B in Assets! Less then 10% in liabilities!!! When, if ever, has there been a ch11 where the assets out way the liabilities by this much? I would think never.
Ji stated from the beginning that this was a strategic move. Now was it strategic to get Nant to settle - this happened pretty quick and wasn't announced until recently - and/or was it to expose the crazy amount of naked shorting and, I would go as far as saying, illegal lending of restricted sclx divi shares?
I personally think it was for both but more for the later. I'm hoping this was a well planned execution exposing the corruption of brokers and hedge funds.
I also hope that it doesn't take months to bring this to light and 1) financially penalize brokers and HF (class action lawsuit), 2) makes them cover their naked positions (squeeze) and 3) possible criminal penalties against the bad actors.
I have doubled my postion since in ch11 and am probably going to add more as well. I'm banking this was well planned!

As unfortunate as it may seem, the danger of rules violations and bans affect the users of this sub as there are lurking Prigozhin Vatniks from Lakhta street who want to report anything and everything.
That means, this is war!
Therefore it is important for us to keep kindling the flames of the revolution by starting spin-offs and other Free-Russia-themed subs.
​
• New subs
As some may like one resistance faction or another, or particular individuals (FreedomStache), they may be in a position to create an entire community of news based on that person or group.
For example, some may be more into the separatist movements, and only some of them in particular. This user could then create such a sub and post relevant information to help create a fan-base and the reach of their group-in-solidarity to the search-engines.
Someone else may do the same with the non-violent movements and advocacy-based communities (RussiaResists, RussiaHumanRights).
To create and run a themed sub it takes very minimal work. In fact, one does not have to post 20 posts per day, it could be just a few per week or per month. The value will already be in a specific, theme-oriented collection of content that any user can look up and use for their research a long time after the fact.
​
• The Value of Reposting Telegram
The activity of reposting Telegram posts does a great deal to connect the Russian resistance with western supporters. Many westerners are weary of using the Telegram app, and the relevant topics are unavailable by search-engine search to find anything contained within Telegram.
Bringing the information out of this app into the wild of the internet is an overwhelmingly positive activity, so long as one does their due diligence and ensures that their sources are not fake FSB channels.
Moreover, bringing this information into Reddit automatically assigns such topics a comment section where they can be discussed.
In many of the Telegram channels, the comments are locked or they are filled with inane cacophony, to participate in which one must risk using the app. Here on Reddit, everyone is free to discuss the content in a moderated setting, no matter what side one is on, according to the standards set by the community.
Additionally, sometimes the admins or members of those groups do find these posts on Reddit and end up being involved in the discussion. There is a chance that resistance group members may read the western feedback regarding their content.
Using the app carries inherent risks such as not changing one's setting to stop exposing the user's real phone number. However, when proper precautions are taken to change this setting, the app is relatively safe. For ultimate safety, it is best to never comment on anything or even react, and to only join groups which are widely featured and have thousands of other subscribers already.
​
• Translation with ChatGPT
You don't even have to speak Russian to participate in the creation of the uprising and a new Free Russia. With ChatGPT it is possible to translate telegram posts in a better way than simple text translation websites. With short posts that have accompanying images and a short paragraph of text, there's a guaranteed high rate of success.
​
• The Value of Cross-posting
At the beginning of the war the focus was all on Ukraine and the battle to keep the Russian army from taking over. Now, the focus will have to split as other front lines develop within Russia itself, and people will have to make efforts to filter their Ukraine war from their Russia war news.
In many subs these posts are intertwined, which provides an opportunity for new Russia-resistance specific subs to gain new members who are interested in getting the curated news relevant to this immediate area.
A themed sub could provide value by simply collecting other existing posts as cross-posted content.
Also, using cross posts can help keep some information alive longer, in the cases where for some reason the original post was removed from the source community.
​
All roads lead home
Any post or community or social media space which focuses and gives awareness to a resistance movement within the Russian Federation is going to exacerbate the pace at which the conclusion of the war arrives.
Even cross-posting other users' content from well-known communities into lesser-known ones is a valuable activity which benefits the cause. Eventually, the search-engine algorithms and organic grass-roots growth will add to the momentum which will inevitably result in the achievement of a new free Russian democratic state.
​
Watch 'em squirm
There is a big problem for vatniks lately, and our sub has been working indeed, in parallel with the actual real fighters of the Freedom Russia Legion/RVC and the UAF. The war is being split into multiple fronts, just as well as the information war. Already, the vatnik trolls have had to divert some of their resources to dealing with Russia-revolution subs from the Ukrainian subs. Just like they have had to call troops away from Luhansk to help defend Belgorod region.
Now that we got their attention, let's take them for a wild ride. Already, the cracks are growing within Putin's war machine and they are going to start fleeing like desperate rats from the sinking ship.
📢So, let's help the resistance, let's help each other: start new subs, repost Telegram, do cross-posts and help take down Putin & Co with a thousand stings. 🐝

Hi everyone,
Recently, while I was taking a biostatistics course about 2 years ago, I remember searching card probabilities, and how to manually interpret nCr calculations and to apply them in general. Most of the researching revolved around standard suite cards but I found some stuff for yugioh. I was also personally interested into figuring out calculations of stuff like the yugioh party tool that dishes you out probabilities of starting hands for X card. The biggest thing I wanted to figure out was how combination of conditions could be calculated, physically. An example would be X and Y for respective cards, for instance, which in this case I could say normal summons and hand traps. I just could not calculate that.
If I remember correctly, I remember coming across some excel sheet that detailed deck sizes and had a multitude of probability ranges for hands for X counts. This was basically an expanded table. It was extremely versatile; though I couldn't really take advantage of it as it was very compex for me to wrap my head around at the time. This notion kinda just faded from me as my class ended and I didn't really utilize it. Basically, this detailed the inner workings of the common yugioh probability calculators and outlined respective percentages for many conditions, such as trends of increasing X count, and how that is affected in 41+ deck size. Like it was big.
This thought honestly just came to my mind as I personally wanted to revisit the optimization of deck numbers but I cannot seem to locate it. I was just wondering if anyone was aware of this chart.

Hi everyone. I am moving to Seattle for a full time position after graduating college and decided a solo road trip was in order to prepare for full-time work life. In total it will take 26 days and will start in my current location (Rochester, NY) then head on home (Houston, TX) to move out of my house, then finally up to Seattle where I’ll be living full time. Pictured below is my trip. Each location does not mark a single day and some places I will be visiting then not sleeping there.
My 2 questions when planning my road trip (at least when discussing location) are between Nashville and Houston, and between Zion National Park and Seattle. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. I am a very open person and love many outdoor activities. Swimming definitely a plus. I will be taking my bicycle and also will be camping for much of the trip if that helps.

Long time lurker. In light of others posting their job application experience, thought I'd share mine.
https://imgur.com/a/d0NwOpK
Meself:

• Applied for Senior and Staff SWE positions (4/13 were Staff, thought I might have had a chance :( )
• 6 years of experience (at the time)
  • Was still employed during job search
• Full Stack, DevOps & Cloud Experience
• Canadia - Toronto
• Applied a mix between Linkedin and directly on the web page
• Applied to a mix of remote and hybrid positions
• Applied between March 1st, 2022 and May 30th, 2022
• Applied to a mix of unicorn startups and FAANG/FAANG-like tech companies

​
Notes:

• Ended up receiving an offer on in early June 2022, still continued other interviews in case the offer fell through but stopped sending out applications
  • Other company that I was in negotiation with couldn't give a competing offer (was a Canadian Unicorn?)
• Barely did any LC. I think I just did a few mediums just to remember the process
• The onsite that ghosted me was from the rainforest company. Did okay in the onsite but I think they announced a hiring freeze a few months after so could've also been the hiring freeze in effect

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 53%. (I'm a bot)

WASHINGTON, June 7 - The Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned Americans that criminals are increasingly using artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit images to intimidate and extort victims.
In an alert circulated this week, the bureau said it had recently observed an uptick in extortion victims saying they had been targeted using doctored versions of innocent images taken from online posts, private messages or video chats.
"The photos are then sent directly to the victims by malicious actors for sextortion or harassment," the alert said.
"Once circulated, victims can face significant challenges in preventing the continual sharing of the manipulated content or removal from the internet."
The bureau said the images appeared "True-to-life" and that, in some cases, children had been targeted.
The bureau not respond to a follow-up message seeking details on the phenomenon Wednesday.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: Bureau^#1 images^#2 victims^#3 using^#4 artificial^#5
Post found in /worldnews and /aiArt.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

alright zeebs I need ur help.
4 those of u w a v complex case, what is ur method of organizing the mess ? what systems do u use 2 continually update new notes & symptoms ?
I've got 18 specialists, ~40 dx, and trying to get much more dx & more specialists added 2 my team. I'm drowning n it all. I need 2 get a better grip 2 help myself, and my drs help me. my genetecist is having me apply 4 the UDN (Undx Disease Nework) and will hopefully b involved n research so I rly gotta get my ducks n a row.
I like the idea of having at least SOME n digital form, that way I can search 4 keywords 2 reference.
TIA 💖

Hi all,
I bought a used 2020 Q3 exactly 1 year ago. It had around 11.5k miles on it - and after driving it for 1 year, I'm sitting at 19.5k miles. The change oil message is popping on my screen - it's due in 3 days. Searching through the interface a bit - it shows that an oil change is needed in 3 days or 2300 miles, and "inspection" is needed by 1/1/24 or 10.5k more miles. Now the question - do I/what service do I need? The last time I gave my car into the shop was for a leaky sunroof in March - that got fixed. When I go to maintenance.audiusa.com and plug in my VIN - it shows me that the recommended service timeline is at 30k miles. However, I was under the impression that cars usually get a large service at 20k miles. Is this not true in my case? Should I just get an oil change now, and wait for the end of the year (or 30k miles, whichever comes first)?
Thanks!

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I am NOT the original poster. That is u/Orangecatbuddy. He posted in Teachers.
Trigger Warnings: assault
Mood Spoilers: I don't remember high school being this crazy but what do I know
Original Post: May 19, 2023
Title: 12 Grades and Kindergarten, only to be walked out on the last day in handcuffs.
Because that is exactly what happened today. A senior decided, on his very last day of school, to literally piss on a teacher.
The seniors went way overboard with their pranks. They broke into the school after the overnight custodians left at 2:00am. They pulled desks and chairs out into the halls, stacked them into piles so that no one could get thru the halls.
There were chairs piled in the lunchroom, and just about everyplace they shouldn't be.
The kicker is when the senior decided to piss on a older teacher. He was arrested and as far as I know, will be charged with felonious assault.
It's my understanding they know who was involved with the rest of the vandalism. Criminal charges will be filed.
This is what they get when admin is more worried about a state report card and less about taking care of simple housekeeping matters.
Edit Update (Same Post): May 20, 2023 (Next Day)
Wow, never expected this to go beyond the teachers reddit. The text messages have been busy this morning, but this is what I know so far.
The teacher who was assaulted has evidently filed criminal charges. Unsure of what, there is a rumor that an additional charge was added because he prevented her from getting away. Again, that's part of the rumors. It's not clear how the kids got into the building, I do know that there are several "sub" door keys missing.
The term stacked, when it comes to the chairs is misleading. It was more like they were tossed into a pile. It was not a neat orderly stack.
There will be no real updates until Monday morning. I'm certain this will be the subject of our morning talk.
For those of you who think schools are open books, boy are you mistaken. Kids are pretty much allowed run rampant because this is a litigious world we live in. Administrators are more concerned with keeping school boards happy and less about discipline when it's necessary. The same admin will do everything in their power to keep this quiet. They have an "ignorance is bliss" policy when it comes to things like this.
Relevant Comments:
About the teacher:
"If I know the teacher he did this to, she will see this to the end.
She has nothing to lose and has had it. Admin wouldn't do anything and this kid has been a PIA to her all year. Now, she holds the cards."
Amazing that the teacher was able to press charges and admin didn't try to sweep it under the rug:
It's my understanding that the teacher called 911 and reported an assault from the classroom. The SRO (editor's note- school resource officer) was called, and the police sent a couple of officers and cruisers. Since the call came from the school, the whole cavalry showed up. She didn't give admin the chance to sweep it under the rug."
There was no harm done besides the urinating:
"No harm done? 600 kids had no place to sit today because there were no chairs in the class rooms.
Not that it mattered, we couldn't get to most of the class rooms because the halls were blocked.
Good thing it was a nice day out today, because that's where we held class.
Then there is the issue of all of the underclassmen that still needed to take exams. Not to mention that all senior grades had to be in today, and here I am sitting up at midnight doing that.
On my time."
Update Post: May 25, 2023 (4 days later)
Title: Update on teacher who was peed on & vandals
I posted a few days ago about a young man who decided to pee on a teacher on his last day of school. Well, here's a update. Turns out he turned 18 in march.
He was held in the county jail over the weekend without bail.
He has been charged with 2 felony's (I'm leaving this here, it seems to be pissing some people off) and 2 misdemeanors. There are a couple of other pending charges, but they need to go to a grand jury.
He was arraigned Monday morning and was given an OR bond. He was also ordered to have no contact with the teacher and to stay at least 500' from her, her home and place of work. This is in effect until this is resolved.
The teacher who was peed on is obviously livid and distressed over the matter. The young man apparently walked into the area she has her desk, and peed on the back of her feet. The way her desk is set up, there's only one way in, and out of the area.
Apparently this kid has been threatening to do this since after Christmas break. This came from a situation when he asked for the third time to use the bathroom and was told no. He told her he would "piss on her heals the last day of school" and she dismissed it as his running off at the mouth.
As for the vandals and their "senior prank". As of yesterday, the number I heard was over $7 k in damages. Mostly furniture that was busted. Looking at some of the security video, they hurled chairs down the hallways. One of the entry doors to the rear of the school had the glass busted out.
They used a sub teacher key to enter the building. We knew that a few were missing, and they figured that subs were walking off with them. They need to account for them better. I asked why the alarm didn't trip. Was told that because there is only a three hour gap between the over night custodians and the day custodians, they don't arm the alarm. It only goes on over the weekend and long breaks.
The kids who were involved were all given 10 day suspensions. That means none of them will walk this weekend, and three will have to come back when summer school picks up to take a couple of exams.
No one will be given their diploma's or transcripts released, until the bill for the damage is paid in full.
That prompted an Marine recruiter to visit yesterday. One of the three is scheduled to ship out to Paris Island in June, and can't without a diploma. Of course, there are parents screaming about it as well.
The way I and others see it, they put their heads together and pulled their prank, they can put their heads together and figure out how to pay it off.
The senior pranks here have been mostly annoying at the worst. This went over the line. The pisser had nothing to do with the prank, and is just a little asshole. I'm hoping the juniors are paying attention, and don't try to outdo this group. I'm also hoping the school board doesn't cave in and let the kids off the hook. They need to allow more out of school suspensions, expulsions and even detentions to resume. In the meantime, I'm looking to go elsewhere, and have a couple of prospects.
EDIT: (Same day, same post)
For those of you who seem to think she had it coming because she wouldn't let the kid go to the bathroom, you need to understand this. He was the kid who asked to go every single period. He never actually went to the bathroom. The would wander the halls. He's been caught several times outside on the basketball court, playing invisible basketball, among other things. Normally, he liked to walk into classes he didn't belong in and cause problems.
It came to head with this particular teacher during a fire drill just after Christmas break. The kid went to the bathroom, except he didn't. The fire drill came down, and she couldn't account for the kid. She red flagged and the fire marshal and others had to look for the kid. It took a half hour, but they found him near the middle school.
She got her ass reamed over that, of course he got little more than a smack on the hand.
She decides to limit one student to the bathroom at a time after that and limits the time you're to be gone. Of course she's more lenient to others. He decides he wants to go a third time one day, there was already a kid out. She says no, he gets mouthy and his threat comes then.
So, for all of you know it all's, who think she was wrong for not letting a kid go on a little walk, you'd be the first ones asking why the school allowed him to go if he'd hurt one of your little darlings.
Marked as ongoing in case we get updates about the kids.

reposting as I'm still on the search for an acrylic 65% board with a hotswap PCB. Ideally frost white tofu65 with hotswap PCB and lineasilent linears, but I don't mind if its just the case. I already have key caps.
ZIP 93101, 95148

Quick Author's Note:
For better clarity of intent, the 'worthwhile opponent' stipulation in Lifedrinker is being changed to 'non-negligible opponent' moving forward.
​
--
​
"The Gellin Empress was the catalyst for our breakthrough," a mage explained. "Tracing Lord Rob's lingering mana signature through the space between dimensions proved effective at first, yet it came with an insurmountable problem: he only attained mana after initially leaving Earth. At a certain point, there was no more of a signature for us to trace. We had found his home dimension, but finding his home world within the infinite expanses of that dimension could have taken years of aimless searching, like blind men stumbling in the dark."
He leaned forward, clearly enjoying having a captive audience. "The key, then, lay within Lord Rob's memories. Even without mana, memories have a power all their own. The Empress looked within his mind and found locations of personal importance to him. Ones that he remembers with pristine clarity. By scrying for areas within Lord Rob's dimension that matched those specific locations, we were able to narrow down the scope of our search considerably."
The mage spread his palms wide, and his voice dropped a full octave, as if he was imparting a great revelation. "The result will soon be made self-evident. You shall bear witness to the foremost magical achievement of our era: a one-way viewing window into Lord Rob's world. The first of many to come."
In respect for the man's showmanship, Rob started up a clap. Granted, he would've clapped even if the explanation was done via a mindnumbing PowerPoint presentation, because nothing in the universe could stunt his enthusiasm right now. Riardin's Ranger, the Elders, Diplomacy, and the Soul Surgeon clapped as well, although Rob was pretty sure they were just following his cues. This moment couldn't possibly hold the same gravitas for them as it did for him. They mostly were here to provide moral support and satisfy their curiosity.
While for him, this meant everything.
"Do we need the Gellin Empress here to create the window?" Rob asked. "I'd also like to thank her for the help she's given."
The mage shook his head. "I'll spare you the details, but to be succinct; she taught us how to save a mana-based copy of the necessary memories, which will allow us to attune to a subset of Earth locations. Her presence is not required. In fact, she insisted that we proceed without her, as the Gellin have gone to rest for the night."
Must be nice. I'd trade ten Levels for a consistent sleep schedule. Rob internally frowned at himself, punting the envious thoughts away. No sour grapes. If the Empress helped me see Earth again, then I hope she sleeps like a baby for the rest of her life.
"One question," Keira interjected. "In your explanation, you stated that, without the Empress' assistance, it may have taken years to discover Earth. That is hardly the weeks or months you claimed in the past."
The group of dimension mages froze, embarrassment blooming on their features. They looked to the head mage for guidance, whose veneer of showmanship was deflating like a leaky balloon. "We were perhaps...optimistic."
"By years?"
"The previous estimate I put forth was one that assumed we would develop breakthroughs as we went along." His mouth widened into a sheepish grin. "As you can see, we, um, succeeded."
Keira raised an eyebrow. "Only with the timely assistance of a Leader." Her tone was calm, yet unyielding. "Rob is too grateful to point out this contradiction, so I suppose the task falls to me. You have also told us that you should be able to 'open' the window and let Rob send a letter home within the next week – is that more unfounded optimism?"
"No." The mage straightened his posture. "Now that we have located Earth, the rest is simply a matter of refining our spells and collecting reserves of mana. We are no longer blind, nor are we fumbling in the dark, and thus our progress moving forward shall be predictable and steady. This, I swear."
After a few seconds, Keira nodded. "Then I thank you for the wonderful boon you've granted to the man I love."
From behind, Malika giggled under her breath. Rob squeezed Keira's hand, gave her a warm smile, and faced the mages. "I'm ready whenever you are."
The tent thrummed with mana as the dimension mages formed a Mage Circle with Malika. It was no different from any other time they'd done so, yet the knowledge of what they were about to accomplish heightened the tension in the air to a fever pitch. Rob's pulse quickened, his throat tightening. He'd been disemboweled by monsters, decapitated by eldritch abominations, and none of those events made him a fraction as nervous as watching the dimension mages at work.
Minutes passed. Rob forced himself to be patient. Reaching across the boundaries of space and dimensions wasn't like heading to the store to pick up a carton of milk. It involved a level of spellcasting prowess that would take Rob decades of committed study to have even the slightest chance at grasping. Frankly, the fact that it was possible at all still beggared belief.
Maybe...maybe the mages were wrong. Not lying; just wrong. They could be overeager, sharing before they were actually ready, and they'd end the circle looking contrite and ashamed.
That was okay. No biggie. Rome wasn't built in a day, or...something. He could wait–
Creak.
It was the sound of a rusted hinge, of crumpling paper, of breaking bones, and more. A combination of all the noises things made when subjected to an external force. Like reality itself was groaning under the pressure.
Creeeak.
A thin, imperceptible line appeared at eye-level, dark as the endless void. Slowly, inch-by-inch, it widened.
CREEEAK.
It had become a rectangle. Two feet wide, three feet high. With a final CREAK, reality threw in the towel. The void dissipated, as if smoke blown away by a gust of wind, revealing...
Home.
Everything was as he remembered it. The same furniture with scuffed marks of wear-and-tear. The same living room where they'd watched movies each Friday. The same kitchen with a sink perpetually filled with dirty dishes. The same tacky wallpaper that his mom refused to change, and that he secretly enjoyed.
Identical. Like a portrait had been painted straight from his memories.
A tsunami of aching nostalgia surged through him. Rob didn't realize he was extending his hand until his fingertips were already brushing against the viewing window. Its surface felt solid, and for an instant he was terrified that this really was just a painting. Something invented to give him false hope.
Then he noticed that a window had been cracked open. Not the mages' window; the window inside his house. A small breeze blew inside, jostling a curtain ever so lightly. Just enough to make it move.
"It's real." Rob's voice was hoarse. "It's my home."
No one said anything. They allowed him his silence, a gesture which he greatly appreciated. Eventually, Rob took a deep breath, clenched his hands so that they wouldn't tremble, and looked at the dimension mages. "Thank you. I owe you...so much. Even if observing from afar ended up being the limit of what you could do, just seeing my house again like this is..."
He trailed off, unable to find words that were sufficient. Thankfully, the dimension mages seemed to understand. "You are most welcome, Lord Rob." The head mage smiled. "This is far from the limit of what we can do, however. Give us time, and this window shall open."
Rob nodded, choosing not to believe them. They were probably right, but on the off chance they weren't, he didn't want to look back on this moment with bitterness. Best to assume the worst and be grateful for what he already had.
As if drawn by a gravitational pull, his eyes drifted back towards the window. It was displaying a fixed point in the center of his home. "Can you switch perspectives? I want to check other rooms." His parents were likely asleep in their bedroom at this hour. Assuming they didn't sell the house out of grief and move, that is.
"I am afraid that isn't possible. We can transpose the viewing window to other specific locations that the Empress provided, but having it 'walk around', so to speak, requires finer control than we are yet capable of."
Yet, he says. Which means that with practice, they'll be able to. Rob placated himself with that notion. This was a minor setback, and he wouldn't let it get him down.
He especially wouldn't listen to that tiny voice in the back of his head, whispering that the reason he couldn't see his parents right now was because they were–
"Got it," Rob stated, in a wooden voice. "What other locations did the Empress pick out?"
The window's perspective blurred and shifted. Rob swallowed a gasp as an extremely familiar place was displayed before him. He'd seen it many, many times, even after coming to Elatra. It used to be at the top of his nightmare rotation, only ousted from its throne when Blights started coming into play.
In front of them was a small grassy lawn, surrounded by lecture halls in the near-distance. The place that had forever altered the course of his life.
"This is where it all started." Rob pointed to an empty spot in the middle of the field. "Portal opened up. Right there. Saturated with darkness. Chains shot out, tried to grab at Jason. I pushed him out of the way, and...the rest is history."
Silence reigned once more. After a few seconds, Orn'tol stirred. The young Ranger opened his mouth, preparing to say what would undoubtedly be some platitude reassuring Rob over his noble sacrifice.
"The grass truly is green."
Rob burst out laughing. He kept going until he was short of breath, wheezing as the others looked at him with eyes full of concern. "I'm okay," he managed to cough, once the laughter had died down to snickers. "Thanks, Orn'tol. I needed that."
"You're very welcome?" Orn'tol exchanged confused glances with the rest of Riardin's Rangers. "I am unsure of what I did to assist you, yet it's good to see you in high spirits nonetheless."
"Sometimes a little silliness is just what the doctor ordered." Rob offered him a high-five, which the boy accepted with zeal. They returned their gazes to the viewing window, Rob tilting his head as he peered closer. "Hmm. That's weird."
"What do you mean?"
"There's no people. It's early evening, but college students have the worst sleeping patterns on the face of the planet. Trust me; I'm speaking from experience. Usually you'd see a dozen partygoers strung out on energy drinks racing around now."
"Perhaps this location is known as a place of danger," Keira posited. "I would certainly be hesitant to tread where a portal of darkness sprang from the aether and kidnapped a civilian."
Rob watched the viewing window for signs of life, finding none. "Could be. Parents probably pulled their kids out after what happened to me. Then either the government condemns the area, or enough money is lost that the college goes bankrupt." He snorted. "Would be the least of what it deserves, considering the tuition fees. Bloodsucking vampires."
"People on Earth drink blood?"
Normally, Rob would have played along with their confusion, but there were more important things to focus on. "Can you change this to the next location from my memories?" he asked the dimension mages. "How many are there, anyway?"
"Five in total. One moment, please."
The window's perspective blurred, shifted, and reformed. Now it was displaying a city sidewalk, its view positioned right outside the best god damn burger joint in existence. Rob didn't care what anyone else said; two greasy slabs of beef squeezed between two sesame-seed buns was the absolute pinnacle of culinary delight. So what if his palette was 'like a five-year old's?' Wasn't his fault that delicious things were delicious.
Belatedly, he realized that his memory of this restaurant had been strong enough for the Gellin Empress to choose it as a point of reference for interdimensional portal magic. That...yeah, that tracked. Aside from the burgers, he had fond memories of sitting at the outside patio with Jason and his folks, drinking Minty Fresh Phantasma and inhaling cheesy fries as they mocked his dietary preferences. Good times.
He was about to explain what this place meant to him when a human casually walked past the viewing window.
She was a normal working woman like any other. Tired eyes, a purse slung over her shoulder, and dressed for lukewarm weather. A cell phone was held in her right hand, her eyes glued to some form of social media. She strode past the window without a care in the world, visible for merely a second before disappearing from view.
To the Elatrans, it was like a horror movie jumpscare. All of them froze. Several gasped. Elder Alessia grimaced. Faelynn muttered "a world of Humans" in a hushed tone. The only exceptions were Elder Duran and the Soul Surgeon, who crept closer to get a better look, their eyes shimmering with curiosity.
In contrast, Rob let out a sigh of overwhelming relief. That bored, everyday woman was exactly what he'd needed to set him at ease. Earth hasn't completely gone to shit behind my back. People are still living their lives.
As he watched, a few more humans walked in front of the window. A middle-aged man, a young boy with his mother, and an old woman with a walking cane. The old woman pivoted straight into the burger joint, Rob internally praising her good taste.
"W-well," the head mage stuttered. He paused, cleared his throat, then started anew. "As you can see, the viewing window is imperceptible to those with low Levels of Sense Mana. Naturally, this will not be the case for a portal that can be interacted with from both sides."
"Dangerous," Meyneth commented. "I would advise that you conceal this type of spell for as long as you are able. The viewing window especially."
"Why is that?"
"If this window cannot be sensed by those with low Levels of Sense Mana, then that makes it an ideal tool for spying on non-Mages. In your haste to glimpse into the world of another dimension, you have inadvertently developed a field of magic that puts every nation in Elatra at risk of subterfuge. People have been assassinated for much less."
The mages blanched. "We are nothing more than simple researchers," the head mage protested, in a faltering voice. "Who besides a madwoman like the Dragon Queen would stoop so low as to threaten noncombatants?"
Keira averted her eyes, pointedly examining the floor.
"We can discuss matters of life and death at a later time," Duran interjected. He gestured to the viewing window with the demeanor of a child in a toy story. "There's a world of discoveries to explore! Take a look at those structures the Earth Humans have built – they resemble the buildings within Human territory, yet small differences set them apart."
Duran ooooh'd as another person walked past the viewing window. "So many humans are ambling about despite the late hour. Is this area a well-traveled location in your home city, Rob?"
"This is around the level of street traffic you should expect for early evening. If it were daytime, you'd see a hundred people per minute."
Duran aaaah'd. Before he could launch into a series of questions, Zamira beat him to it. "Pardon me if this comes across as an insult," she began, hesitantly. "But Earth Humans appear marginally...uncoordinated. It is hard for me to describe the notion, yet when I watch them move, they appear as if they're liable to fall over at any moment."
They look normal to me, Rob almost said, before remembering that Earth's normal wasn't Elatra's normal. "That's called being permanently Level 1." He shrugged. "They've all got crap stats. Except athletes, I guess."
Zamira stared at the human passerby with obvious sympathy. "My condolences."
Does Earth seem like a world of cripples to her? Rob wondered. Even Utility Class users have the option to put a couple points into Dexterity and Perception. That's not counting the natural stat boosts they gain as they grow up, either. And when combined with Vitality and healing magic, it means that people in Elatra tend to age gracefully.
Rob tried to think of the last time he'd seen an Elatran with the same frailty as that old human woman with her walking cane. The oldest person he'd met so far was the Fiend High Soulseer, and in spite of being positively ancient – and blind – the dude could get around fine. Elder Duran was having health problems, but that was only after suffering from severe Corruption poisoning for weeks on end. An incident like that would've landed an Earth human in long-term hospice care.
Actually, no, that was wrong. It would've just killed them.
"We should switch to the next location," Rob said, preempting any further questions. "There's still two more left." Maybe I can see...no. Keep your expectations in check.
He was right to do so. Rob's heart sank as the viewing window solidified once again, revealing battered, empty streets. Half the buildings had collapsed to rubble, as if visited by a wrecking crew with an axe to grind. He recognized this spot as the street leading up to his favorite movie theater on the other side of the city. There'd been good times here, as well.
Although not anymore. The theater's roof had caved in, and half the letters in its ostentatious PRIME CINEMA logo were missing. It would take years to rebuild – assuming someone was willing to invest millions of dollars into what was essentially a ghost town.
"This..." He ran his hand down his face, aware of everyone gazing at him with pity. "As you can probably infer, this isn't normal. In the past–"
Bang.
Rob practically jumped out of his skin at the abrupt sound of gunfire. At first he thought the shot had come from outside, but no, it was both too distant and too close for that. The noise also sounded different from the rifles that the Dwarven Thunder Rod wielders employed.
A series of repeated bangs swept his thoughts away. Everyone watched in astonishment as a crew of Earth military soldiers ran into view from a side street, desperately fleeing the eight-legged Blightspawn that was hot on their tails. The abomination was more of an amalgamation of flesh and limbs than anything resembling a living creature, and the way it skittered made Rob reconsider if spiders were really that bad in comparison.
"Keep firing!" one of the men commanded, his voice sounding like it was coming from the bottom of a lake. The soldiers blasted their assault rifles in a retreating offensive, peppering the abomination with a hailstorm of bullets. Their response was swift, their aim was true, and it did not matter. The Blightspawn bulldozed through the rain of bullets as if it was a light drizzle, the creature's five cavernous mouths wailing for blood and sustenance.
It was nearly upon them when an explosive rocketed in from the opposite side street, knocking the Blightspawn off its many feet. The reprieve was temporary, but it was just long enough for the soldiers to escape unharmed. Unfortunately, the creature was also mostly unharmed, sporting minor injuries despite a direct missile strike to the torso. With a chorus of screams that prickled Rob's ears, the abomination continued its chase, batting away a second missile as it resumed the chase with renewed fervor.
Then it was gone, having left the window's range of sight. Distant sounds of battle grew quieter, the gunshots and explosions becoming more faint as predator and prey ran deeper into the ruined city.
Rob closed his eyes. He said nothing for half a minute, allowing himself time to process what he'd seen.
"Okay." He opened his eyes, nodding. "This is fine."
Keira laid a hand on his shoulder, struggling with what to say. "Rob...you don't need to–"
"Hold it in? Bottle up my emotions?" A wry chuckle escaped his throat. "Honestly, I'm not as affected as I thought I'd be. The Blight dropped one too many cryptic hints for me to be surprised, anyway. At this point I'm just glad that Earth hasn't been completely overrun. Some parts of the city might be fucked up, but not all of it is."
He narrowed his eyes. "The biggest thing I'm worried about is the Blightspawn itself. You saw those weapons the humans were using, right? Think of them as substantially upgraded versions of the Thunder Rods. They should've put a real dent in a fully-grown Blight, let alone one of its spawn."
"Perhaps the creatures have gained a defensive Skill?" Duran theorized. "What we witnessed appears consistent with other damage reduction Skills such as Tough Skin or Heat Resistance. I would surmise that the Blight has learned something akin to – for example – Thunder Rod Resistance."
Rob paused. Elatra didn't have a specified 'Bullet Resistance' Skill, but that was because conventional firearms had been removed from the system for balancing purposes. The Blight wouldn't give two shits about balance. They'd cheerfully grant themselves Bullet Resistance, Missile Resistance, and whatever else tickled their fancy.
And the more Earth fought back, the more resistant they'd become.
"...This doesn't change anything," Rob eventually concluded. "Earth is a big boy planet. It'll figure something out. In the meantime, we'll clean up our problems here and be ready to help if the Blight's still around by then."
"You're sure?" Keira asked. Two words that held so much intent. 'Are you sure you'll be alright? Are you sure Elatra should remain your primary concern? Are you sure you don't want to head home the instant the dimension mages create a working portal?'
Rob gave her a thumbs-up. "I'm sure. And I know you'll worry about me regardless, but I promise I'm feeling fine."
Or maybe he was just numb, and an avalanche of emotions would bury him when he least expected it. The good news was that was a problem for future-Rob to deal with. Present-Rob had one last area to investigate.
I'd be satisfied with seeing my old bedroom intact, he thought, as the dimension mages altered the viewing window for the last time. I have strong memories there, right? It should be a candidate. Those late night Netflix binges were uh...riveting. Yeah.
The window finalized.
Rob felt the strength leave his body.
Some parts of what he was seeing were incongruous. Strange details that he'd need to figure out soon. All of it took a hard backseat to the one sight in the room that truly mattered.
Jason was alive.
He was at his house that Rob had visited so often. Alive. Surrounded by people. Alive. Chatting away. Alive. Gesturing in that exaggerated manner he often used. Alive.
Smiling.
Alive.
A dam broke. Silent tears began streaming down Rob's face. Thoughts cut out, leaving only the realization that his best friend since childhood, the sole person he'd have trusted with his life before meeting Riardin's Rangers, the man whose place he'd taken when the gods picked a new chew toy...
Was alive.
"Hey, man." Rob's smile was the most genuine it had been in a long time. "Been a while."
At that moment, almost as if he could hear him, Jason grinned.
​
--
​
Author's Note:
When I was writing Chapter 199, I was mildly annoyed that Rob didn't reach 200 Vitality on Chapter 200. That would've been hilariously coincidental. But if I had to choose between that chapter or this one for a big milestone...I think I like this better.
Happy Chapter 200, everyone. Thanks for reading and staying on this journey with me.

I got a pc case this is the one - https://www.walmart.com/ip/AOK-PC-ATX-Mid-Tower-Gaming-PC-Computer-Case-Tempered-Glass-RGB-LED-4Fans/1847018725?from=/search
and it says it can take Mini-ATX, Micro-ATX and Micro-ITX, but when I put my dell OptiPlex 790 MT motherboard in it it wont align where the screws are so it wont stay in the case how do I know which motherboards will align? And please recommend some to me.

I tried relogging, EA app recovery, clearing temp files, reinstalling EA Desktop, uninstalling and redownloading the game + reinstalling EA desktop before first launch to no success, I keep getting the error "You Don't Have Access".
If I log out of EA desktop and then run the game from steam, EA desktop will automatically log in and then give me "Things are taking a little longer to load up. Hang tight while we try to solve the problem" warning. I can't find any log files and I can't get EA Desktop to log to a console so I can see what exactly the error is.
I've tried searching online, but the solutions given to other people doesn't work for me. I tried contacting support, but I can't get beyond "Wait for chat to pop up" after submitting a case. No chat pops up, waited a full day.
Thanks for reading this far.

Three New Terrifying True Scary Tales
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Number One: The Pool
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Now, this happened a very long time ago. I am not going to mention when or where though and I am submitting it anonymously. I don’t want people going back and finding out more about it and then lashing out of me.
​
I was 13 years old and my brother was 11. As I mentioned, this happened a long time ago and I think today, not a lot of parents would put a 13 year old in charge of an 11 year old. But this was not unusual at all back then. In fact, I was looking after my little brother all the time before either of us even hit 10 years old.
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After a while, of course, always keeping my eye on him began to get very annoying. It interfered with my hanging out with friends. It was quite a drag when I would try to talk to girls. It was just a pain in the ass, really.
​
Anyway, one day during a really hot summer, our parents decided to drop us both off at the local swimming pool for the day. My dad had to work and my mom had errands and stuff to run plus work do to do for the church. It was so hot and there was no way we could afford air conditioning. We had one old fan in the house and a sprinkler in the yard that we could go play in. But the swimming pool was the much better option.
​
Of course the pool was very crowded. Lots of families would drop their kids off there during the summertime. And of course, even though I knew it already, my mom stressed to me, “Keep an eye on your little brother at all times.”
​
Some of my friends were at the pool too. I got to talking to them and they told me about this new girl who moved into town. She would be starting school that fall and supposedly she was really hot. So of course, I wanted to check her out. I knew the lifeguards would be watching my brother in the water, so he would be fine.
​
I went with the guys and the girl was really cute. My buddies all dared me to approach her, which was admittedly a brave thing for a 13 year old boy to do. Of course, I couldn’t chicken out in front of them, so I did just that.
​
She was a very sweet girl. We actually ended up talking for a little while. Her parents were at the pool though, and they called her back after too long. So I went back to the water to see how my little brother was doing.
​
The only problem was that I couldn’t see him anywhere in the water. This was a small town in a rural area, so although I said the pool was crowded, it wasn’t like a water park is crowded though. I should have easily been able to pick him out of the water. He just wasn’t there.
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I went and searched around the area surrounding the pool and didn’t see him there either. My heart started beating faster and I began panicking. I went to the building where the showers and concession stand were. He wasn’t there either. You couldn’t leave that pool without going through that building, though. I asked the attendant if a 11 year old boy had left the pool on his own in the previous hour and he told me no.
​
I then went to the lifeguards and my buddies. I thought maybe there was a chance that I had missed him. It’s easy to occasionally miss someone in a crowd. The lifeguards ordered everyone out of the pool. Fortunately, there were no drowned children in the pool. Unfortunately, my brother was nowhere to be found outside of the pool.
​
The lifeguards had to call my mother at the church. I had never before lost track of my little brother like this before. I had no idea what to expect when she showed up. I was only thankful that the police were already at the pool or she probably would have whipped my ass right there in front of the entire pool.
​
The trouble I got into at home isn’t something that I want to go into very much. My butt very much has PTSD from the experience. But that was minor compared to the fear I felt for my little brother. Hell, I didn’t even have time to feel guilty although that I knew that I was. I was only concerned for him and wondered what would happen.
​
All day and night, I expected the police to bring him home. But that didn’t happen. I expected it the next day too. But it didn’t happen.
​
The town organized a search to look for him. I kept expecting to hear from them that they had found him. But that didn’t happen either.
​
After about a week of my brother not being found, I began fearing for the worst. I began thinking that he was dead. And I was terrified every waking moment of my life, expecting to absolutely hear the news that his dead body was found.
​
Nearly two weeks after the disappearance, we got a phone call from the police. They had found my brother and thankfully, he was alive. But unfortunately, that’s not the whole story.
​
Remember the attendant telling me that no boy had left on his own? Well that’s because the boy left with one of the lifeguards who was getting off duty. He had lured my brother out of the pool and into his car with promises of ice cream, something he and I rarely ever got. And my brother went to his house with him.
​
For all of that time, he kept my little brother locked up in his basement. He didn’t do anything sexually to him, thank God. But there was a lot of mental and some physical torment when my brother wouldn’t do what he was told to you. But the scariest part for him was thinking he would never get out and be with his family again.
​
Here is another weird part. The lifeguard wasn’t an adult. He did this while his parents were out of town for a few weeks. They came back early and caught him. And if you think I felt bad for my parents’ punishing me, what they did to him had to be legendary. The police thought he was either planning on killing or releasing my brother before his parents got home. But no one ever knew for sure.
​
He had to live with it without much help for a long time. Mental health assistance had a very bad stigma back then. But we’re both still alive today and he forgave me a long time ago.
​
Number Two: Taking the Garbage Out
​
A few weeks ago I went outside at around 3am to move the garbage to the curb since pickup would be in the morning. I often do this in the middle of the night. I just tend to keep weird hours and as the weather warms up for the summer I find the warm nights preferable to the sweltering days.
​
I’m not worried about bothering my neighbors since I don’t use noisy bins and all of the houses right next to me are currently empty. I actually find the quiet of the neighborhood at night quite relaxing.
​
Unfortunately since I don’t use bins animals are able to get into the bags a bit easier and while this doesn’t happen often it had happened on this night. So I was outside picking up the strewn around garbage and putting it into another bag when the silence of the night was suddenly broken by multiple police sirens.
​
At first they seemed distant and while they startled me it was not at all unheard of to hear sirens at night here. But usually it would be one in the distance. As I listened, still bagging the garbage, I could tell it was multiple sirens and they were getting closer. Then just as suddenly as it started it stopped again. There was just silence. By the time they stopped they sounded maybe four blocks away.
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For a moment the night was silent again and I began hauling the bags to the curb when the neighborhood dogs began barking all at once. It was like every dog in the neighborhood had gotten the cue to start barking. Many were even howling. It continued for maybe a minute and once again it just stopped as suddenly as it had started.
​

I realized I hadn’t heard any barking or howling while the sirens were going and that’s normally how it would work. These dogs had started up separately from the sirens and just stopped all at once. It just wasn’t normal. I went back to the side of the house to grab more bags when the silence was broken a third time. 

​
Just a single chime in the night. Like someone getting a phone notification. This sound wasn’t blocks away. This sound was here. RIGHT HERE. No more than feet away. As I said, the houses around me are empty.
​
I was done. The rest of the garbage would wait until morning. I didn’t see anyone close by but that just made it worse. There was someone close by that I couldn’t see. I immediately went into the house to leave the garbage for the morning.
​
I don’t know if these things were related. If the cops had been chasing someone who’s fleeing had caused the dogs to bark. Someone who received a message on their phone as they approached my house. Or if it was all just a coincidence. But I won’t be taking the garbage out at 3am anymore.
​
A Commuter’s Nightmare
William M.
06/30/2021
​
Back in the 80s, I worked at the Irwin Memorial Blood Bank in San Francisco while living and commuting from Oakland, CA
​
My job as Registrar, took me all over Northern California, during Blood Drives at hospitals, clinics, major corporations, etc., where we would sometimes witness firsthand, the dead, being placed on gurneys, running out of the Coroner's or Medical Examiner’s rear doors, and down the sidewalks, because they simply didn’t have enough room or staff inside the morgues to process them. Mortuaries were having problems too due to the massive overload where deceased loved ones were admitted but not processed or interred for months or even years at a time.
​
I remember watching the News and reading newspaper accounts of E.R.s in hospitals, clinics, etc. so clogged with patients, that 1 in 10 would die waiting to just get in to see a Dr. It was a Public Health and Safety nightmare. It was a National disgrace. It was politically orchestrated mass murder. It was the B purge of the ‘80s and ‘90s.
​
I remember, starting work early on one of many Blood Drives (the A.I.D.S. epidemic was just getting started) and having to catch the first B.A.R.T. (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train out of the station at about 4:00 am, where morning after morning I would witness hundreds of people sleeping on the benches, or the sidewalks, or on the streets outside, waiting for it to open.
​
Hundreds of others would be seen walking around like zombies in the early morning freeze amid the concomitant yelling, screaming, moaning, begging, and pleading, all of it looking like a newsreel of the death camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
​
Many times, I was woken at home in the middle of the night, to the sounds of people howling and cursing outside my window at some real or imagined threat, until either the police came, which usually took hours because they were spread so thin, or some tenant, or other, ran them off.
​
I remember the time I woke up to the sound of a woman’s voice begging in the early morning cold for someone to help her. She kept repeating it over and over growing weaker and weaker until it was little more than a whisper.
By the time I’d gotten up, armed myself with the steel-reinforced baton I’d purchased at a Police Supply store, and ran the 5 floors down to the ground floor, I found her sitting in a taxi shivering from the 42-degree drizzle coming in off the Pacific. The cabbie told me it was alright; she was just cold and needed someplace to rest and warm up; He’d drop her off at one of the nearby shelters.
​
At the time, I was living in a local Residence Hall on Lake Merrit in Oakland, California which was little more than a converted Hotel from the San Francisco/Oakland Gilded Age of the late 1920s. It had 5 floors and a penthouse with a capacity of about 200. I never saw it get much beyond about 30 residents. It sported a full kitchen, dining area, big screen tv viewing room, swimming pool, and a recreation room with pool, foosball, and darts.
​
I lived with a friend, at the time, on the 5th floor just under the penthouse. There was an elevator, but like most refurbs, it didn’t work. That meant we'd have to climb 10 flights of stairs every day to reach our room. The best part was that we had the entire floor to ourselves. I guess nobody wanted to climb that many stairs. Because we were both runners, it was a little like running the 900 feet to the top of Angel Island, running across The Golden Gate Bridge and back, or running the 3.4 miles around Lake Merrit twice a day.
​
Because there was no air-conditioning, all the windows were left open during the summer months, but along with whatever cool air the San Francisco/Oakland Bay would bring through the gaping nearly wall-length vault ceilinged windows, it was always accompanied by the teeming, screaming City of Oakland street din: cabbies, buses, cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, scooters, police sirens, ambulance, fire department, pedestrians, hustlers, druggies, break-dancers, prostitutes the homeless, et al. Day or night, winter or summer, it was like living in a jet engine test lab, somewhere on the 9th level of hell.
​
Of course, we could always close the windows against the noise 5 stories below. But if it was summer, with all the humidity coming off the bay, we’d roast like 2 suckling pigs in our own sweat even if we used a fan.
​
One night after a particularly grueling day at work, I came home, climbed Mount Everest (or at least K-2) to my steaming little abattoir, tore off my sports jacket, shirt, and tie, and fell into a coma-like sleep only to awake some 4 hours later to the sound of someone slamming a door, over and over, seemingly as hard as they could. It was about 2:00 am and raining so hard the water was pouring through the open window and flooding the floor and carpet. The sound was coming somewhere down the hall from one of the other units.
​
After about the 15th or 16th slam to my inner ear, I was up, as in a trance, running like a lunatic from unit to unit and window to window, covering the entire southside of the 5th floor; battening down the hatches, and getting drenched in the process. It was, how should I say: exhilaratingly infuriating. I was supposed to get up in 2 hours and commute to work in the upper peninsula.
Having unconsciously completed this Sisyphean task and realizing that there was zero chance of getting any sleep, I donned my foul weather gear, equipped my trusty baton (I used to tuck its 2 ½-foot length up my sleeve when running), and headed out the front door to Lake Merrit which was just outside the main entrance. From there, I trotted to the sidewalk circling the lake, and began to run.
​
As I ran counterclockwise against a torrential rain with a gale-force wind broken only by the occasional intermittent rainbow-hued lightning flashes which blinded me to almost everything around me, I almost ran into someone up ahead who was walking in the same direction.
​
He was hunched over against the wind and rain and wearing a long heavy winter coat. Unusual for that time of year, I thought. Whenever I would run in public, I always made it a courtesy to let people know when I was approaching especially from behind. I’d blurt out a perfunctory:
​
“Excuse me.” Followed by a conciliatory:
​
“Sorry.”
​
But apparently, the person ahead either didn’t hear me or didn’t care because, when I was about 6 feet from him, he suddenly turned around, exposing a darkened contorted face, jagged teeth, and a guttural growl that would have stopped a charging 600-pound Grizzly.
​
The sheer force of the malevolence emitted from this inhuman thing almost made me stop, but because I was moving so fast, the inertia along with the gale force wind and lightning strikes propelled me past him (or it), and fingering my steel-reinforced baton, I, in turn, steeled my nerve and kept running. I looked back only once to reassure myself that he (or it) wasn’t following.
​
Running on the leeward side now, with the rain at my back, I ran past a group of men in a circle smoking or drinking or doing whatever noxious or illicit thing I imagined, when, feeling charged with my own adrenalin, or the anger and resentment at that woman’s searing pleas for help, or the spook I’d almost run into, or just the gross injustices thrust upon the world in that dank, dark and dangerous time, I almost stopped, baton in hand, intending to take on the whole group: I may go down, I told myself, but at least I would take one or two with me.
​
Just then, the lightning struck particularly close to where I and they stood and the sheer blinding flash and concussive boom shook all of us enough to break up their conspiratorial collaboration and my righteous crusade; just enough, that is, to shove me headlong around the next bend, to the long straight full out dash to the front doors, the 5 floors, 10 landings, and 50 risers to rain-sodden home.
​
To get to work every day, I'd have to commute to the upper peninsula by using 3 buses, 1 train, and 1 cab and after a 10 or 12 or sometimes 14-hour day, I would have to take the same to get back. This meant that if I didn’t go out, make dinner, eat, or watch tv, I just might get about 4 hours sleep. Commuting took between 2 to 3 hours, one way.
​
Once on the way home, almost every stop was crowded with commuters. I was told that it was because there were so many buses down for repair. The ones still running were so filled beyond capacity, that the shocks and springs were sitting on the chassis, and stop after stop proved nearly impossible to take on any more passengers. Still, and despite the few getting out at every stop, the driver would take on even more and just pack them in.
​
I remember him yelling for people to get back behind the yellow line over and over. By then, he was long past any semblance of reason; his patience frayed to a single maniacal thought, his voice raspier and raspier, his manner, more and more brusk.
​
I can still see when he finally lost it; jumping up, out of his seat, with a nickel-plated 38 Caliber Revolver pointing at one of the passengers; an elderly woman, screaming from the top of his lungs:
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“Get back behind the yellow line!”
​
I can still hear the woman begging the driver:
​
“Please...” while the passengers behind were practically trampling each other to get out of the line of fire.
I remember the sad, exhausted urgency in her voice; she really was trying to move back, but how could she, an old woman, do that with all those people blocking her way? Everyone knew this was an impossible task; everyone except the maddened driver. He just kept glaring, and bellowing with his gun out pointed right at her and the other passengers.
​
"Back up and make room" he yelled.
​
‘Or else what?’ I thought. ‘You're gonna kill an old woman?'
​
Getting up out of my seat, pushing my way through the throng who were pushing against me to get away, I managed to get within about 6 feet from the front when, roaring through the din and my fear and anger, I ordered the bus driver to:
​
“Put the gun down!” And again, with even more rage and authority:
“Put the gun down, now!”
​
The bus driver shocked that it might be a cop, or worse, shakily, put his gun back in his concealed carry holster and hypnotically sat back down. He resumed driving without saying another word. I got out at the next stop, along with the elderly woman. She was so shaken, that she busted out crying. I held her still fuming despite the close call because I would now have to wait for another bus and after that, 2 more; the train and a cab to get home. I wasn’t going to make it until well after 8:00 pm. As soon as I got home, I reported the bus number and the driver to Muni.
​
Many of the commuters I'd see day to day, or share a seat with were victims of the purge just trying to get out of the rain or the cold, or the wind, or the sun, even for just a little while. For them, it was easing the agony of living on the street, even just a little. For many of us regular commuters, during those dark times, it proved to be the same.
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On one of the final buses that would take me to the train and across the bay, I remember standing, with about 50 others, on Market Street waiting. Like ours, stop after stop was so packed with people, some were standing in the street because there was simply not enough room on the sidewalk. The ones in the street would stay where they were for fear of losing their place and missing their connection and having to wait another hour, or more, to catch another.
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Because the rapidly descending elevation of the southbound streets ending at Market Street from the upper peninsula were so steep and the transverse angle of the turn so sharp, some of the buses would skirt the edge of the curb, sometimes rolling up over it onto the sidewalk putting them dangerously close to the commuters waiting on the other side.
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If there were any people in the street, especially the old or the infirm, they would either have to get out of the way and lose their place in line or hope the bus driver stopped before completing the turn. Most of the drivers would. Once there was one who didn’t.
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I remember the television and newspaper account about an elderly woman waiting at one of the stops during the pm rush hour. When the bus made the oblique turn way too fast at 25 miles per hour she was either too close to the edge or standing in the street when she was hit by the side view mirror across the face and the left side of her head.
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She went down under the wheels and her body got hung up under the chassis. The bus driver too full of passengers to stop, or late for his break, or just too coked up to notice, kept on heading for the Embarcadero before he realized something was wrong. By then, the woman had been dragged over a quarter of a mile. No one knew for sure whether the concussion from the mirror or the relentless dragging was the cause of death. I guess it didn’t matter to her anymore, one way or the other. It mattered to a lot of those who witnessed the whole thing though; screaming and yelling, block after block, trying to get the bus driver to stop.
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To get across the Bay to San Francisco from Oakland or back, one alternative to the nightmare bus commute was the B.A.R.T (Bay Area Rapid Transit). It was quiet, clean, air-conditioned, and fast. Traveling under the Bay, it could span the 13 miles in minutes. Once I’d reach the train station, by bus, from the Oakland side, I’d descend one of the many street-level entries to the below-ground turnstiles which led to the train platform. Of course, there were always hundreds of derelicts, homeless, hustlers, etc., hanging out by the turnstiles waiting for their chance to slip through and get on any one of the many trains that serviced the Bay Area, but sometimes, especially after a scuffle with B.A.R.T. Security or the San Francisco/Oakland Police, they’d scatter to the winds (or the shadows as it were) until everything calmed down and then they'd be back at it again, day and night.
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Almost every week I'd hear about someone falling, or being pushed, or jumping down onto the third rail, which would either short-circuit the line and knock out the power or if it was particularly grisly, halt service entirely. Because service resumption could take hours, waiting passengers would have to go back up and out onto the street and catch another train, take a cab or a bus or just walk or, as was often the case for me, run.
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Once, I remember running to the next stop when I was ascending to the upper peninsula because the previous connection didn’t show up which meant it would have added another 45 minutes to my commute. The choice was obvious and inevitable: I could either
“wait to be late” or go for it. I chose the latter.
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You just can't imagine what it’s like to run at a 20-degree angle uphill for about 2 miles while wearing dress slacks, dress shoes, a white shirt and tie, and a sports jacket, in San Francisco, during the summer, with the humidity until you’ve tried it. It’s, how should I say: exhilaratingly infuriating.
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Running, I came upon a stand-alone, transmission shop, right in the middle of a residential area. The owners must have paid a pretty penny to get away with that one. There were police cars, the fire department, a metro ambulance, the San Francisco Chronicle, and a marked County Coroner’s Office vehicle scattered around the shop.
Some people along with some of the employees: their first names embroidered on their shirts, were standing on the sidewalk just outside the property watching. They’d been there for about an hour when I stopped to ask one of them (Bob) what happened.
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Wearily he said:
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“The girl who worked in the office answering the phone and typing up orders was shot to death by her boyfriend. The boyfriend got away but she was still down there being processed. God, she was only 24 years old. They’ll catch him, though. He hasn’t got a chance.”
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'Nope,' I thought.
'In this town, I don’t expect he would.'
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I was late again when I got home. Vaulting the 5 floors to reach our loft, I held my friend close, the entire night. She was ok with that. So was I.=

IF a human being owns 100% the means of production, all the raw resources, all the technology ( machinery ), THEN he is a capitalist. HOWEVER; when this capitalist chooses NOT to work ( direct physical and mental energy ) to make specific good or use direct energy to pro ide a service hour for hour BUT hires other human beings to do it instead, this capitalist is now a human labor capitalist. Since, the hired on humans are doing ALL the direct energy work to make product or provide service, they should be equally granted equal part of profit after all expenses have been paid for. The moment human labor capitalist take more profit than his fellow human beings even though he did not do most of the direct energy work, he or she is now crony capitalist ( labor exploiter) which is the highest form of work usury. Usury of any kind is a crime against humanity; in this case; specific humans hired to do an equitable amount of work to maintain the foundation of the business and allow it to grow. Such criminal activity falls under being a communist since you are stealing time and energy by means of siphoning pay to oneself!

Two weeks until the most epic concert of all time!!
Here's everything you need to know about Trilogy and Empower Field.
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Start & Set Times:

• Doors open at 4 pm / Show starts at 5 pm
• Seats in the 100s, 300s, and 500s sections are on a first come first serve basis, just like GA Floor.
• Ashes / Awake (5 pm - 7 pm); Break (15 min); Ascend / Fallen Embers (7:15 pm - 9:15 pm); Break (15 min); Illenium / DJ Set (9:30 pm - 11:00 pm)
  \Official times are yet to release. There are no openers. These are projections, subject to change\**
  

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Empower Field Policies:

• Bags - https://www.empowerfieldatmilehigh.com/clear-bag-policy-1
• Clear bags on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Crossbody-Stadium-Approved-Concerts-Festivals/dp/B09GXC6KF6/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=clear+bag+stadium+approved&qid=1686189737&sr=8-2
• Clear fanny packs on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Veckle-Waterproof-Approved-Transparent-Adjustable/dp/B07KJCM7YJ/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1RP22TNO4P0YE&keywords=clear+fanny+pack+stadium+approved&qid=1686189747&sprefix=clear+fanny+pack+stadium+approved%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-5
• Directions and Parking: https://www.empowerfieldatmilehigh.com/directions-and-parking
• ADA Guide: https://www.empowerfieldatmilehigh.com/plan-your-visit/ada-guide

\I spoke with a representative regarding hydration backpacks and they are NOT allowed\**
\Bags and pockets will be searched by security before entering. If you are NOT bringing a bag and plan on sneaking certain items in, hide them in your shoes, bras, and underwear\**
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Personal Items List to bring:

• Sunglasses
• Ear Plugs
• Vicks Inhalers (pack of two from Target)
• Gum or Mentos
• Pacifier, Hand-Held Fan, Ginger Chews (instant nausea relief)
• Comfortable shoes, and clothing with zippers (wallet, phone, keys, etc.)

\Purchase water in the stadium before sitting down\**
\If planning to be under the influence, please purchase a testing kit for any substance. Order the testing kit from:* https://dancesafe.org/
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Post Concert Items to have:

• 5 HTP capsules (mood & serotonin)
• Vitamin C (Orange Juice, Capsules, Powder)
• Electrolytes (Powder), Pedialyte, Gatorade
• Water
• Salty Foods
• Fruit
• Multi-Vitamin, Vitamin B, Magnesium

\Important regardless of going sober or not. Recovery is key\**
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Things to consider:

• Regardless of where your section is, travel in groups of two. There will be a lot of people, so it's important to travel safely to the bathroom or concession stand. This is more-so important for groups that do not want to lose their "first come first serve" seats in sections 100, 300, 500.
• Screenshot your tickets and send them to a friend you will be attending with. This is in case your phone dies, loses signal, or does not have a strong enough signal.
• Share emergency contacts just in case you get lost during or after the concert.

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Have fun, be cool to one another, and be safe! Please comment with any other suggestions I may have missed.
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