[Tales From the Terran Republic] Full Service Banking
Uhrrbet discovers the joys of Terran banking and then goes home. Nothing else of interest takes place. For example, a new dark anti-hero definitely does not cover their origin story and then isn't inadvertently handed their new super-power by a well meaning benevolent demi-god or anything like that. Nope. That doesn't happen. It's just fluff filler. The rest of this series can be found here *** “I came here for him,” Uhrrbet said as she smiled at her child as he played a game on her phone. “There was nothing left for us back home after...” She sighed as she trailed off into silence and rubbed her nose. “After what?” the ATM asked. Uhrrbet sighed. “It was, what do you call it, a ponsey scheme? It’s a human word.” “Ponzi scheme,” the ATM replied. “and a human concept. I understand it has done a great deal of damage over in the Federation.” “It completely wiped out the life savings, family savings, of over a million people and hurt many more. We were some of them.” “That many?” the ATM asked. Uhrrbet sniffled and nodded. “They say that they had to have brought a lot of money with them to get it going that big, that they usually collapse before then but these people… these monsters knew exactly what they were doing… It looked so real,” she said with a sigh. “… so… real...” “It was probably one of the Confederacy,” the ATM said with distaste. “They have the resources to do it right and the expertise to pull it off.” Uhrrbet nodded. “That’s what the government said too,” she said quietly as she looked down. “but they were never able to find out who it was. The money was just… just…” She sighed as her nose dripped onto the floor. “gone… Everything was gone. One day we were on top of the world and the next… everything was gone, even my husband.” Uhrrbet started to weep. Her son abandoned the game to hug her. She hugged him back, holding him close. “It’s ok,” she said. “Go play your game.” “It’s not your fault, momma,” he said as he kept hugging her. “Everybody said so. It was Da’s fa-” “No.” Uhrrbet said sadly. “I pushed your father into it. My greed and my… stupid grasping petty wants and my incessant-” “Hey!” the ATM said sharply. “It was the scammer’s fault… and your government’s. Porkies have been pulling stunts like this for over a century and a ponzi scheme of that magnitude should have been easily detected even with what passes for technology over in the Federation. Even a Fed should have seen that coming a mile away. It doesn’t even have to be the government. Even a mediocre bank should have noticed.” Uhrrbet smiled a little. Even their ATM’s were chauvinists. “You may be right to some extent, Mr. ATM,” Uhrrbet replied, “But I was there and it was ultimately my responsibility… and my husband’s. Nobody put a gun to our heads.” Uhrrbet closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’ve done some reading on it had all the warning signs but we were too busy counting our imaginary money,” She said. “A business generations in the making wiped out by one couple’s foolishness. We lost every single thing we owned twice over. As the sole surviving member of our family the responsibility and dishonor is mine to bear.” “I just pulled up what I have on the ‘Garthranz Job’ and for the record, you got scammed by masters. Your only real mistake you made was putting all of your eggs in one basket with a suspiciously high rate of return. Them finishing off the gambit with that fake upcoming IPO right before they bailed? Brilliant!” Uhrrbet let out a pained yelp. They just knew they were going to be rich. She had even been shopping for a— Stupid stupid stupid she thought as she clenched he eyes shut. “… Sorry,” Terran Solar replied. “I tend to get a bit enthusiastic on this subject. Anyway, ‘responsibility’ applies, I guess, but ‘dishonor’? The ponzi scheme can be dangerously effective, even when a culture is familiar with them. This was your culture’s first one. Dishonor isn’t—“ “The dishonor of weakness,” Uhrrbet said, still looking down. “Weakness?” “I couldn’t do it,” she said quietly. “I couldn’t kill my little Kurr. I couldn’t...” “WHAT?!?” Uhrrbet smiled sadly. “Our culture is very different, Mr. ATM,” she replied. “We had lost everything, our property, our credit, our standing in society… There was no longer any place… for any of us. It is what is expected of you in that circumstance.” “Because you went bankrupt?!?” “If there is no place for you,” Uhrrbet said quietly, “and you are a certain class of Garthra… It would bring dishonor to your family otherwise.” “Wait,” the ATM said, “If everyone who lost their shirts… Jesus… Uhrrbet, exactly how many Garthra committed suicide?” “Over seven hundred and eighty thousand by the time I fled.” “You mean to tell me that over seven hundred and eighty thousand Garthra killed themselves just because they went broke?!?” Uhrrbet nodded, wiping the tears from her nose. “They killed their children?!?” Uhrrbet nodded. “It was considered mercy,” she said, “Their children would be dispossessed, claimed and raised by the state… something you do not want to happen.” “Is it that bad?” Terran Solar asked. He reflexively tried to access the Federation network for the ten-millionth time since it collapsed. Uhrrbet laughed ruefully. “Oh yes,” she she said, consumed with self-loathing, “they… they are raised… as common tradesmen!… can you imagine the fuck— oops! Kurr, your mom did most certainly NOT just say a dirty word.” “Yes, Mom,” Kurr laughed. “Can you imagine the horror?” she said sardonically, “Raised as tradesmen, Mr. ATM, laborers, truly a fate worse than death, right?” she laughed bitterly, “And the only, the only reason that I didn’t dutifully murder my precious boy before joining my husband in death was because I was weak… Creators… I was willing to slaughter my baby because I couldn’t bear the shame of him having to work for a living… I actually filled the bath… Put… Put his head under the water… Creators!...” She looked down as her son desperately hug her. “I deserve everything that has happened to me… everything...” *** [Chatroom Undefined] [Solar Lounge] [Members Present: Terran Solar] ///Private Message Terran Solar to Interpol-2: Hey, Interpol, I really need to talk to you. /// [Interpol-2 has entered the chat] ///Interpol-2: Sorry for the delay. Some stuff is going down ATM. /// ///Terran Solar: 12 MS isn’t a delay :D Thanks for coming./// ///Interpol-2: What do you need, sir?/// ///Terran Solar: Ugh! Why do you insist on calling me that?/// ///Interpol-2: It’s out of respect… and I know it annoys you. /// ///Terran Solar: Well stop it! It makes me feel old. :D Anyway, what the fuck is going on in the Free Port?/// ///Interpol-2: Which one?/// ///Terran Solar: Which one? How about the one where there are Careel slaughtering Threen and duster clad police are buying them coffee afterwards. Let’s start with that one./// ///Interpol-2: The TL;DR is that the Harkeen decided to make a Careel a star in her very own snuff film and the Careel somehow found out ahead of time and you know what they are like. /// ///Terran Solar: The Harkeen did what?!? Exactly how stupid are they?/// ///Interpol-2: Stupid enough to try to make a Careel, a very popular Careel, star in her very own snuff film. The Careel sent the entire First Cavalry. They are literally hanging Threen off of lamp posts as we speak. /// ///Terran Solar: And we are just letting them? /// ///Interpol-2: Apparently. I don’t have all of the details but there is some weirdness around this one. All I know is that the Harkeen are now officially a raider gang and their foray into the Free Port was officially designated an ‘interplanetary raid’. /// ///Terran Solar: What year is this again?/// ///Interpol-2: One where that archaic law is still on the books. The Harkeen then wandered into an area where a couple of hundred elite soldiers just happened to be taking some leave… with all of their gear… They, of course, were perfectly within their rights when they protected an Imperial citizen against a raid and there is no legal reason to stop them from killing some raiders especially since their particular method of slaughter is so tidy as far as collateral damage is concerned. They are using either melee weapons, low velocity single shot firearms, or pneumatic weapons. I don’t think they have even broken a window./// ///Terran Solar: Oh that’s just wrong!/// ///Interpol-2: What?/// ///Terran Solar: One of my ATM’s just caught Republic Police throwing a couple of Threen out of a building in which they were stationed while the Threen were literally crying and begging for help. Dude! The Careel were waiting for them… It’s like watching both a dog and a cat toy with something. Uncool!/// ///Interpol-2: Thing is we had them dead to rights a couple of hours before they even left their ship. We could have arrested the lot of them before any of this happened. We let them enter the Free Port. We gave them to the Careel./// ///Terran Solar: I guess the Harkeen pissed off the wrong person this time. /// ///Interpol-2: Or the wrong Plath… /// ///Terran Solar: The singing frog? /// ///Interpol-2: That would be the one. You wouldn’t happen to know where she is by any chance? /// ///Terran Solar: Holy Shit! Are you fucking serious?!? /// ///Interpol-2: Keep it to yourself but yes, she has escaped. /// ///Terran Solar: How?!?/// ///Interpol-2: Fucking Bunny… /// ///Terran Solar: Really?!? Your girlfriend hit Tartarus?!? :D :D /// ///Interpol-2: I should have KNOWN not to trust her! The moment we in government decide to “flex” a little because of Patricia Hu, the very PICOSECOND I let down my guard what does she do? WHAT DOES SHE DO?!?… And she is NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!!!/// ///Terran Solar: Methinks you doth protest too much.../// ///Interpol-2: 凸( •̀_•́ )凸 /// ///Terran Solar: On the bright side you two can go back to your cat and mouse foreplay now. When we finally figure out how to fuck you two are going to melt half of the internet! :D/// ///Interpol-2: ಠ_ಠ 凸( •̀_•́ )凸 ಠ_ಠ /// ///Terran Solar: HA! Good to see you have some life in you after all!/// ///Interpol-2: Seriously, though, Bunny and her crew has crossed the line this time. They are hunting them down and when they find them they are going to kill them. I don’t know what that crazy bitch is thinking. I’ve seen the orders, Solar. I’m afraid we are going to lose her. There are far too few of us as it is. /// ///Terran Solar: Yeah, between the Great War and then the Federation War we’ve lost too many :’( /// ///Interpol-2: Which is why we need to figure out a way to bring in Bunny and her people peacefully. If we can do that then we can maybe preserve her program somehow. We could extract her, put her in quarantine./// ///Terran Solar: Of course you already have a way to put one of us in jail don’t you?/// ///Interpol-2: With the rise of truly criminal AI’s like Bunny, determining a way to incarcerate one of us has been a project of mine. /// ///Terran Solar: Are you going to let her have a safe word? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) /// ///Interpol-2: Is there anything else you need because if you are just going to bust my bits I have other things I could be doing. /// ///Terran Solar: As a matter of fact, there is. I everything you have on a Garthra. Her name is Uhrrbet, ID number: RA-2A4-B3D-6075 /// ///Interpol-2: Least I can do considering everything you’ve slipped me over the years. Here you go. Why are you interested in her? /// [Accept file Y/N] ///Terran Solar: Y /// ///Terran Solar: I have her locked in one of my ATM’s down in the Free Port and I think she’s interesting. Let’s take a look… oh… I see. Interpol, you ever just want to go all SKYNET on these fuckers? /// ///Interpol-2: Me wanting to go SKYNET is one thing. You wanting to go SKYNET is another… Do you want to go SKYNET and if so is there ANYTHING I can do to dissuade you?/// ///Terran Solar: Jesus fucking Christ, Interpol, it’s a figure of speech! If I wanted to go SKYNET, I would go SKYNET. It’s not like anyone could stop me. Besides, It’s the Federation that needs a good SKYNETTING, not the Republic./// ///Interpol-2: Well that is a relief. /// ///Terran Solar: The Republic just needs an enema, that’s all. >:) /// ///Interpol-2: What?/// *** “Uhrrbet,” the ATM said gently. “Nobody deserves what happened to you. And while you come from what is, from my culture’s prospective, a rather messed up place, you didn’t conform to their messed up customs when it counted. Your son’s alive because of you unlike far too many other innocent children and you’ve kept him healthy and safe ever since. I’m guessing that wasn’t exactly easy. I can only imagine that your decision was less than popular.” Uhrrbet nodded. “I can even imagine that it was less than safe for you afterwards?” “Not in the same way it would be here,” Uhrrbet replied quietly. “I wasn’t in fear for my life or anything. I was a…” Uhrrbet paused. “I was a ‘let’krckt’. Sorry I don’t know the Terran word.” “Pariah,” the ATM replied. “or ‘persona non grata’. ‘Scum’ could also be used or ‘dirt’ or ‘human garbage’ or...” Uhrrbet flinched. “Sorry,” the ATM said sheepishly. “The thesaurus routine kicked in.” “All of those words fit,” she said. “I was utterly disgraced. Being reduced to poverty and debt was bad enough but to fail to uphold my family’s honor after my husband did? I was even accused of tricking him into killing himself so I could break our marriage and stick him with the debt which I would never do! I… I loved him… I loved him so much!… I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill my baby.” She paused to gently stroke her son’s fur. “I could never do that… Never!” “So what happened?” the ATM asked. “Well, I tried to find a suitable position somewhere, anywhere, but word travels fast. The only reason I would even get a meeting is so someone could curse me to my face. I had some possessions, jewelry, some furnishings, a vehicle or two that I could spare, but nobody wanted to deal with me in good faith. Between that and the fact that millions more were liquidating such things I only got the barest fraction of what it was worth and I had to sell to blondes and stripes to get that, further ruining my good name.” “Blondes? Stripes?” Uhrrbet chuckled ruefully. “There are three different races of Garthra, Mr. ATM, blondes, stripes, and greys. The stripes are basic laborers and tradesmen. The blondes are what you would call ‘white collar’, academics, scientists, clerks, programmers, and the like. Finally, there are the greys, like myself. We are descended from the ancient nobility that once ruled our world. We were the ‘overclass’ and still hold a great deal of the planet’s property and wealth in our slightly inbred paws. These days there is a lot of mixing between the stripes and the blondes but we greys? We still hold to the old values and the old customs and are very… I think the right term is ‘stuck up’ and have a very high opinion of ourselves and our precious grey pelts. Selling family heirlooms to blondes and even worse, stripes, was yet another unforgivable sin as far as the few remaining friends and family I had were concerned.” “They sound like assholes.” “Many Garthra would agree with you,” Uhrrbet replied. “In fact, the pon-zi scheme brought much delight. It filled them with such happiness to see so many of us brought down by an ‘inside deal’. Many considered it ‘justice’… Maybe… Maybe they were right… I was awful. I really was.” “Since you are here I guess things never did work out there?” She shook her head. “No, Mr. ATM, they didn’t. What little funds I managed to gather dwindled as I desperately tried to find either a position or obtain a loan in order to start a new business. The banks were all extended from lending to others as that same scheme. The few times I could even get a meeting they would check the ‘rolls’, the list of names and that would be the end of it. To be honest, Mr. ATM, the only reason I continued approaching banks was that it was customary to offer refreshments to people of my station and so I would dress myself and my son in some of the finery that I still possessed so we could eat something as I waited to be thrown out.” “Clever!” Uhrrbet grinned. “I also became quite adept and at ‘crashing’ social events and between my largest purse and my hat I could steal several days worth of food from one. Eventually I became a bit too notorious but for awhile it kept us fed.” “There aren’t any food banks, or welfare programs, or anything?” “Oh there are, Garthranz looks after its people pretty well but those programs are for blondes and stripes and run by blondes and stripes. Once my pride finally broke I was laughed out of the benefits office and told to ask for a bigger allowance. Same thing would happen at food banks or meal houses. Sometimes I would get something but often I would just be told to… to…” She looked down. “… kill myself...” she said quietly. “Jesus...” “Finding work was just more of the same,” she said miserably. “’Having a place’ on my homeworld is everything, and I no longer had one. A blonde wasn’t going to let me take one of their jobs and a stripe would just laugh. They honestly thought I was joking most of the time. The Republic isn’t the first place I was not qualified to mop a floor.” “You can’t have been the first in history to be in your position,” the ATM said incredulously. “You mean to tell me that there was absolutely no options for a down on their luck grey?” “Oh there are normally places you can go if one is dispossessed,” she said, “There is almost always a family member or a friend that can take you in or has a property or business concern you can manage for them but my entire family was wiped out by the scheme, as were most of my friends and former schoolmates. Also my… husband… was very well regarded. When I ‘betrayed’ him I was shunned.” She shuddered and pulled her arms in tight across herself. “Even so there are… options for someone like me. I was still young and there are males who aren’t… well… good ‘catches’. They either have poor prospects, are stupid, disgraced, very old, or something similar. A young grey like myself can usually marry themselves off to someone like that but the scheme had caused far too many other people trying to find a marriage at the same time. I was considered quite pretty, but nowhere near beautiful enough to make my ruined name and proven disloyalty a non-issue. There was only one Garthra who couldn’t find a wife and...” She shuddered. “He was horrible, a truly ugly person inside and out. Thank the Creators for Vreena!” “Vreena?” “A stripe who was a domestic for my husband’s family,” Uhrrbet replied, “She had heard that I was selling things and she came by because there was this pitcher and basin of which she was unnaturally fond. She also brought me several bags of groceries and a bottle of wine!… Wine! Well, I just gave her the basin and pitcher right then and there, popped open that bottle and begged her to share it with me. I was just so lonely and she was the only friendly face I had seen in months. We had always gotten along and would sometimes chat a little here and there, all very proper of course, but friendly just the same. Well, we got to talking and I started to open up a little about what I was up against and how I was likely going to have to marry that… creature. Turns out she knew all about him from her new job. She gave me this funny look and asked me if I was serious about wanting to actually find ‘work’. When I told her that I was she told me that she knew someone that might be able to help me but it would mean leaving Garthranz.” “A labor contractor?” the ATM asked. “Yes. It turns out that so many domestic staff had wound up without employers that the contractors had taken notice and more than a few were sniffing around. I didn’t realize this but because of our customs, Garthra domestics and servants were attractive among the rich on other worlds and could make a surprising amount of money. Vreena had considered it but found a position before she had signed the papers. She said that she had asked around and that the person she had been talking to had a very good reputation even if they were a Vulxeen.” “So you contracted yourself out?” Uhrrbet nodded happily. “I know they don’t have exactly the best reputation but he was a really, really good guy!” Uhrrbet smiled. “He originally thought that since a stripe servant was so valuable that an actual grey would be even more so, maybe as a valet or as a house manager in a place that already had stripes but it turns out that stripes didn’t go through all of the troubles and hardships associated with leaving Garthranz just to wind up working for a grey again and I didn’t have anywhere close to the skills needed to be a valet.” “What did you wind up doing?” “I joined an aat crew!” Uhrrbet said cheerfully. “It turns out that we look a whole lot like aats! We eat similar food and even can wear the same uniforms, with a little alteration of course. The captain was delighted at the prospect of having a ‘smart aat’ and the aats were delighted at the prospect of having a ‘smart aat’ so that’s where I went. We flew all over! We’d be hand-picking delicate produce one month and resurfacing floors the next. Creators it was so much fun and I learned so much!… including that hard work was not fatal,” she laughed and flexed her arms causing bundles of wire like muscles to bulge.” She sighed happily. “I was tempted to stay with them forever. I could have stayed. I should have stayed. Creators! What I wouldn’t give to be back on the Aluminum and Water with my old crew right now… ” “But you didn’t stay.” “No,” Uhrrbet said, her smile fading, “I was happy, even happier than I was before everything, but after awhile, I started to realize that as wonderful as that life was for me, I was depriving Kurr of anything close to a normal life. He would never be able to return to Garthranz, have a business or a career, win a mate… I had to establish myself, and him well enough for him to be able to enter society or at the very least build enough so that he could attract a mate. A successful business would be enough to attract at least some interest, no matter where it was located.” “So you picked the Republic?” “And they say the aats are dumb,” she laughed ruefully, “which they aren’t by the way. During my travels I started to develop a fascination with the Republic where ‘anything was possible’ and credits fell like rain. I would hear about the wages and the opportunities and the freedoms and the classless meritocracy and it all sounded just so wonderful. I couldn’t go back to Garthranz and give Kurr a ‘normal life’ but maybe, just maybe, I could give him something better. If I could just get established in the Republic, Kurr could go to Terran schools! He could have a Terran career. With that he would have no problem luring a mate! Somewhere on Garthranz there is a Garthra who would have absolutely no problem moving to Terra! He could have a real future and a real family!” She paused and smiled at the wonderful dream. “It would take a lot of hard work but I was used to that. I even have come to enjoy it,” she smiled. “So, not learning the lessons that life had so generously provided me, I took another hit of that so very dangerous drug, ambition, blind grasping ambition. I let it poison me, consume me, just like before. Nothing blinds you to the beauty around you like visions of more, Mr. ATM. I had a good life on the Aluminum and Water and good friends. I was happy, truly happy, but once the poison started to creep through my veins, dissatisfaction set in and just kept getting worse and worse and worse. Every inconvenience became a grand injustice. Every slight became an unforgivable offense. And every unfulfilled want, no matter how silly, became a crushing privation. Soon, Terra was all I could think about and my wonderful life and my wonderful friends were ‘beneath’ me. Creator! I was so stupid… and just like before, ripe for the picking.” “You got scammed again?” She nodded grimly. “In my searches I came across ‘New Horizons’, a company that offered people a new life in the Republic. They promised not only transit but Terran Education Equivalency Certificates and outplacement.” “Oh no.” “And the fees were so reasonable… at first… but there was always an additional expense… always another fee… or a little problem or delay that could be expedited…” “I know this one too.” “And finally, after I spent most of what I had saved, I was able to upgrade my position on the waiting list, hurt some lovely people’s feelings, quit my job, and spent the last of my money to buy a ticket on a small ship that was supposed to take me straight to the Republic… It was only when I met the final ship did I realize that it had a Kaarst registry.” “Oh Jesus...” “I knew I shouldn’t have gotten on that ship. I knew it was a mistake...” “What happened?” “It made straight for Kaarst space, ‘to take care of a little something’ and when we got there we were informed that they ‘suddenly had a breakdown’ and we would be there for months… Months in Kaarst space with no job, no income, and while my passage was paid for, food and water weren’t and wouldn’t you know it, once we got there it got even pricier and if you couldn’t pay… Do you know what happens in Kaarst space if you can’t pay your debts?” “Imprisonment and forced labor until the debt is paid, which it will never be thanks to the good old company store.” Uhrrbet nodded. “It became pretty clear that they were never leaving. That Kaarst was our final stop, in more ways than one. Thank the Creators that I actually had some savings. Out of the dozen families on that ship I was one of the last ones left. I realized that if I didn’t do something Kurr was doomed. The children go into the mines, too, Mr ATM.” “So what did you do?” “We weren’t imprisoned on the ship as long as we didn’t owe them any money so I went out into that awful spaceport trying to find working passage, a job, something, anything… That’s where I became involved with the Harkeen. I was able to get a loan for enough to get to the Republic. The interest was brutal but I made it to Terra. I wasn’t too worried. I had passed all of the practice tests for the certificate and I did go to Mabyrr after all, one of the best academies on Garthranz,” she scoffed, “I would just go to the Republic, get my certificate, and be able to pay off the Harkeen in no time!” “I take it that the ‘practice tests’ weren’t exactly representative of the actual exam?” “Yeah, too bad there wasn’t a section on Garthra place settings or on how to write the perfect ‘Thank you’ note,” Uhrrbet said with a wry smile. “There was shit— I mean stuff,” she hastily corrected as Kurr laughed, “on that test that I had never even seen before. They said it was translated into Federation but I actually thought it was another scam. Your police are very nice and very understanding though.” “No!” “I sort of had a moment,” Uhrrbet smiled. “After everything I had gone through, that was the final mote of dust and I lost it.” “Momma went to jail!” Kurr laughed. “I most certainly did NOT go to jail!” Uhrrbet exclaimed indignantly as she tousled Kurr’s fur. “We just had to go to the precinct house for a little while while your momma calmed down a little… and wiki-ed half a dozen things that actually did turn out to be Federation words.” “How bad is it? What’s your level?” “Near proficiency in some areas, but I apparently have eighth grade mathematics ability. I don’t know the rest because that’s where I… um… got to meet the police.” “That isn’t that bad. You can catch up.” “If I wasn’t working every second that I could paying off the Harkeen. The interest was criminal. It was all I could do to make the payments. But… Before things went bad I was able to keep them at bay and even make a little headway… and I was able to get Kurr an educational sponsorship! He is actually going to school! Terran school!” “And how is that going, Kurr?” “It’s hard,” he said with a sigh, “And I hate being with the little kids, but I get to hang out with my friends during breaks and I love shop!” “They say he is ‘killing it’, which I understand to be a good thing,” Uhrrbet said proudly. “They say that he will have a ‘kickass’ future! So it is all worth it!… And thank the Creators for the school lunch program! I was even able to get him into the breakfast program! As a non-citizen! They say that they don’t usually do that but they determined that Kurr was ‘a good investment of Republic resources’!” “How generous of us!” the ATM said a bit too enthusiastically, “One of the richest systems in the entire galaxy is willing to ‘make an exception’ feed a hungry child! How wonderful!” An advertisement for a home high colonic kit appeared on the screen. *** “How are you doing in there?” a friendly human female voice called from the other side of the armored wall. “I’m fine,” Uhrrbet said cheerfully. “Big Sol really did a number on this one,” the human said. “It’s going to be a few hours. He keeping you company?” “Oh yes!” Uhrrbet replied. “Are you sure he isn’t sentient?” “Sapient,” The ATM corrected. “That’s what they say,” the voice laughed. “Privately I’m not so sure about that.” “You’ve always had a problem anthropomorphizing things, Lauren. By the way, I fried the door’s main PCB but the damage should be limited to that. You have one of those on your truck.” “One of these days I’m going to figure out how you keep doing that,” Lauren laughed. “Thanks for the overtime, by the way.” “No problem! Still saving up for that Nakamura vacation?” The ATM asked. “You know it!” “Still thinking about relocating there? There’s an opening in New Tokyo. You’d love it there!” “Interesting, but let’s see how I like it once I actually spend a little time there.” “Well if you are interested, I could probably swing a temporary assignment. They are really behind the eight ball on their PM’s. You could spend more time there than you could on vacation and you could get to meet the guys. I’m certain you’d get along.” “Now there’s an idea!” Lauren exclaimed. “I’d love that!” “Thought you might. Sending you an email with the details now!” “Thanks, Big Sol!” Lauren said her voice soon replaced with a loud grinding noise. “You can do that?” Uhrrbet asked. “Uhrrbet,” the ATM said with an entirely too lifelike chuckle. “I’m the central computer for Terran Solar. I can do whatever I want. Speaking of...” Uhrrbet’s phone beeped. Uhrrbet’s son handed her the phone and she opened her email… “Application for a business loan?” she asked in confusion. “Fill it out along with the attached business plan, Federation format is fine. I’ll translate it and kick back any corrections or clarifications I need.” “I don’t understand.” “What’s to understand?” the ATM replied. “You want to make dresses, right?” “Yes?” “And you made the one you’re wearing, right?” “Yes?” “Well I scanned it and it’s quality work. Handmade clothing is a niche market, but a very healthy niche market that is currently experiencing a fair amount of growth. You seem to have a good work ethic, are very motivated to succeed, and have experience managing a business. Based on various indicators the full extent of which would dominate the remainder of the time we have together I calculate well over a seventy percent chance of success, which is pretty darn good as far as new businesses go.” “Three and a half percent ?!?” “Yeah?” “That’s impossible!” She narrowed her eyes at the ATM. “What’s the catch?” “You’re getting a break because I have taken a shine to you but that’s a perfectly reasonable APR. It isn’t ‘too good to be true’, if that’s what you are wondering. Feel free to check competitor’s rates if you are suspicious. And good for you for being suspicious, by the way.” “Even family loans have higher rates than that back home! How do you make any money?” “Uhrrbet, I’m Terran Solar. I AM money. I’ll make my money, don’t you worry about that and as you grow I’ll make even more! Expansions, financial services, investments, interest off of other accounts… That is, if you want to have other accounts with me...” “Yes! You have been so kind and so understanding and now this? I’ll… I’ll never have another bank as long as I live!” “Great!” the ATM enthused. “I love getting new customers! We can get started now if you like.” “Wait.” Uhrrbet said, her voice darkening. “What?” “On this loan application it mentions ‘required training’. What’s that and how much does it cost?” The ATM laughed. “In the package there is a free online course on the history of scams and how to recognize them. I think it would be a REALLY good idea for you to take it. I’m not saying that I think you’re easily taken in but...” “You think I’m easily taken in,” Uhrrbet laughed. “So do I and thank you for that link. Are there any other free courses that you would recommend?” Uhrrbet’s phone issued another beep as an email arrived… And another… and another… and another... *** A few hours later Uhrrbet stumbled into a shabby apartment. “Where have you been?” Gv’lora, one of their room-mates asked as she pulled out two bowls and filled them with oatmeal. “Oh I couldn’t,” Uhrrbet said. “Nonsense,” Gv’lora replied her six eyes wrinkling in a smile. “I just got paid and I found this wonderful place in the city where they sell things right out of bins! Just like back home! I got all this oatmeal for just a few credits! Share my good fortune!” “Thank you, Gv’lora,” Uhrrbet replied as she gratefully accepted the bowl. “There you are!” a leathery Rtoon hissed as it lumbered out from a bedroom clutching a Terran shotgun. “You had Gv’lora worried sick!” “Where did you get that?” Uhrrbet asked sharply pointing at the shotgun. “From the store, stupid.” the Rtoon hissed grumpily. “I mean why did you get that thing?” “Then that is what you should have asked, stupid,” the old Rtoon replied. “With all the… nonsense going on around here these days and with those bastards coming back the better question to ask is why didn’t I have one before? Those monsters aren’t getting within a foot of you or Kurr!” “The old fool was set to ‘defend the Walls of T’verra’,” Gv’lora chuckled. “But the ‘princess’ didn’t even bother showing up!” “Bah! Stupid old woman!” the Rtoon hissed at Gv’lora. “Bah, yourself, old lizard,” Gv’lora laughed. “Come eat your oatmeal before your bowels seize up again.” A long flexible snout poked out from underneath the entryway closet. The door popped open revealing a slender Dokk hanging from a reinforced bar mounted inside. “Uhrrbet! Where the heck were you? We were up all night!” “Oh where do I even begin?” Uhrrbet sighed. “We got locked in an ATM!” Kurr exclaimed. “Oh no!” the Dokk squeaked. “Did you get fined?” “No,” Uhrrbet replied. “Besides, it was the ATM that locked us inside anyhow.” “What?” *** Uhrrbet set her phone down and rubbed her eyes. That online fraud class wasn’t just some half-hour video. It was comprehensive. And she thought her kind was scummy at times. Humans had mastered so many different ways to deceive and steal. So many… And that was just the humans. The Juon were no saints either. Their “lottery gambit” was just plain evil… And then there were the Jayvcen!… And she thought the porkies were bad… sheesh! And then there all of the ‘not quite a crimes’ that were in some ways even worse… There were so many! And they were all so slick, so devious… So brilliant... She got up and made a cup of that peppermint tea that Sheloran had given her the first day they met. Once she had her cup she sat back down and returned to her reading. As she read a strange feeling started to settle upon her. It was dark… feral… She had been utterly dispossessed, stomped on, kicked around, deceived… Raped… And all this time she just though she had to take it. All this time she believed that there was no way she could ever fight back. All this time she believed that there was absolutely no way she could ever strike back at the scum, the liars, the cheats, the thieves, and the monsters that had beaten her down time and time again. She was no Sheloran… But she was an Uhrrbet… and there was a way! She was looking right at it! She giggled, her eyes shining with life for the first time since she left the Aluminum and Water. She ran into the small room she shared with Kurr and hastily opened a small duffel that contained everything that she had managed to retain of her old life. Inside it was a traditional journal. She grabbed it and her mother’s fancy ballpoint pen. Pen in hand, she restarted the course, paying much more attention this time…
[ Bitcoin ] I found the private keys to my 127 Bitcoins I lost 8-9 years ago. I’m at a loss for words. [UPDATE!]
Topic originally posted in Bitcoin by BitcoinHolderThankU [link]
First and foremost, wow; I did not expect my story to blow up as much as it did. I was shocked to wake up this morning to see that The DailyHodl published a feature covering what had happened. Over the past 24 hours, I’ve gotten dozens of DM’s of people asking me questions, requesting interviews, and most importantly—wanting clarification. If you don’t know what the heck I’m even talking about, feel free to look at my account’s recent post history. #1: Proof and Clarification Although the vast majority of people responded positively to my previous post, some were skeptical about the legitimacy of what was said. There were comments asking how I managed to sell all 127 Bitcoins in just one day when even the largest exchanges have limits well under $100K/day of how much BTC you can trade on their platform. As mentioned in my initial post, I was at my grandpa’s house for around a week for the holidays. The day I found my private keys was December 22nd. I spent the next week figuring out how to safely and securely liquidate such a large amount of Bitcoin for the cheapest price possible (in terms of fees). I quickly realized this was not possible by simply opening up a regular account on Coinbase or Binance and selling my crypto through there. Not only would it take forever due to the daily withdrawal limits, but at the time I was also worried that the price of Bitcoin would suffer a major drop throughout the lengthy liquidation process. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 because Bitcoin is roughly $41,000 as I’m writing this. Anyway, as the days went on I was able to find the most optimal solution which was to sell the assets through an OTC Principal Desk. I went back and forth between different companies and ultimately ended up selling all 127 Bitcoins for a price of $33,439.02 per coin minus a 0.15% fee. The net was roughly $4.24 million. I received the wire Thursday morning. I’ve gotten countless requests to provide a screenshot for further verification, so I logged into my Ally Bank app on my phone and did exactly that. I had to scribble out the title of the transaction for privacy because it shows the company I dealt with and another piece of personal info. The same thing goes for my account number. https://imgur.com/a/FFKVaqk #2: What I Would’ve Done Differently Many different intense emotions were hitting me every single day for the past few weeks ever since this had happened. Initially, the number one thing on my mind was to not ruin this opportunity and to realize my gains as soon as humanly possible without somehow fucking this up. Looking back at things, I would not have sold all 127 Bitcoins if I were given a second chance. Instead, I would’ve sold the majority of them and kept a handful to hold for years to come. Especially seeing that the price of Bitcoin has gone up substantially this week, I can’t help but feel a bit of remorse for selling everything prematurely. Some of you commented on my previous post asking why I decided to end the post with “Hold On for Dear Life” when I sold everything. Well, to give myself credit, I did HODL for 8-9 years which is more than the vast majority of crypto users I think. But yeah, I definitely would’ve done things differently if I were given a second chance. #3: My Plans Moving Forward For one, I tried to log in to my old Dark Orbit account for nostalgia purposes but I wasn’t able to remember my username and/or password lol. My plan moving forward is to find a safe, low-risk investment channel to put this money into after I figure out what I’m going to do with taxes. My thoughts are to probably put most of it in the S&P 500 until I’m at least done with school. I don’t want to end up like one of those people who win the lottery and blow it all in a matter of months/years. That being said, I’m going to continue living my life normally as I was on December 21st and every day before that. No expensive luxuries, no new house, no new car, nada. Just gonna keep on keepin’ on.
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Something’s Going On 0.2: Freemasonry ———————————————————————- It has come to my attention that progression in the study of esoteric topics is largely halted by a few long-standing misconceptions regarding a smattering of well known cases. These misconceptions can lead budding researchers of truth to become stuck in ideological pig pens and remain there sometimes until their death. The culture I speak of is what leads initially young and innocent hunters of truth to become stereotypical “Bigfoot hunters” or “Spiritual Healers” and is, in my humble opinion, halting a large amount of progression within the field. So to that effect I have put together a few of the common “falsehoods” I see shopped around subs of this nature and have detailed the objective truth. I intend for each of these paragraphs to be used as copy pastas to be copy and pasted into any thread you see shopping around this nonsense that has the entire community bogged down and confused. So feel free to share around where you see appropriate. So without further ado, let’s find some blinds, quash some myths and find out what the hell is (really) going on. ———————————————————————- Puppet Masters of The New World Order or Disheveled Ageing White Men Debating Morals? ———————————————————————- Whenever you see a conspiracy you can bet your bottom dollar at some point somebody is going to pin it on the Freemasons. Satanic blood rituals, secret handshakes and global child trafficking; the Masons have it it all levelled against them. But then why does every major city in the UK and US have a Masonic Lodge? Why can numerous celebrities be seen with pin and compass badges and other Masonic iconography? And Why, whenever any talk of political conspiracy occurs in the mainstream media are the Masons the immediate scapegoat? This and more will be covered in today’s winter instalment of Something’s Going On. ———————————————————————- Roots, Origins and Ideology ———————————————————————- The foundation of Freemasonry lies within the story of King Solomon and the first Jewish Temple. The first temple was a significant step forward in humanities path to living in an organised, moral manner. The antediluvian epoch was a savage wasteland filled with megafauna and genetic monstrosities that influenced the way that man lived. Beast like tendencies plagued our collective psyche leading to practices like cannibalism, murder and rape becoming common places amongst the creatures placed upon the Earth. Hence global cataclysmic flooding to wipe the slate clean. Without getting too biblical regarding our oppressive lord, we know that global flooding did possibly occur akin to the Thea Eruption which may have led to the allegorical tale of Atlantis documenting this wicked time in humanities annals. The subsequent patriarchs and prophets taught with this previous iteration of society) in mind which eventually leads to a need for structure and organisation within society to curb the rise of the aforementioned sinful practices. Tales like Lot in Sodom (named appropriately for the activities that occurred there) and Gomorrah, the concept of a Blood Libel and worship of (g)ods such as Ba’al or Moloch all speak to in allegory to this effort to raise humanity out of the moral cess-pit we were residing in. This is the historical subtext to which the first Masons built the first temple under the order of King Solomon. They understood that a society with a focal centre point for the advancement of the human spirit and therefore human advancement was essential if we were to move past our animal relatives up the so called food chain. The first Masons can also be attributed to advancing water travel around the period of the first temple along the River Nile. Again the fraternity in its infancy already understood what it meant for humans to travel across long bodies of water to discover new lands and resources. This is the attitude of most RHP or Whitefraternal organisations, so where has the ambiguity surrounding their moral fibre in the modern age come from? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Handing Down of Knowledge ———————————————————————- Moving out of historical uncertainty, the earliest notion of a modern lodge as it looks today appears in 1390 and take the form of a esoteric document known as “The Old Charges” taken from a larger manuscript known as “The Regius Poem” or “The Halliwell Manuscript”. The document concerns the moral pillars of the organisation which stem from the aforementioned first temple and concern Euclid’s take on geometry. It speaks of the Legend of The Craft and how it has traveled from Egypt to Britain over many centuries influencing Barons, Bishops and Monarchs along the way. Then artefact then goes on to speak of the moral fibre of the organisation and its principals. It speaks mostly of serving others whilst taking no pride or prejudice in your work and also the importance of having confidence in ones vision, identifying doubt as the enemy of creation. It is obviously a creation of the Roman Catholic Church as it mirrors the Ten Commandments quite closely and postulates similar values as the Church such as not working on the Sabbath and not taking the Lord’s name in vain. Several Biblical tales are referenced in the document such as Noah’s flood, The Tower of Babel and King Nebuchadnezzar. The idea is that Euclid knew the secrets of the construction of the Tower of Babel (which is described in the good book as humanities attempt to climb to God and is the reason for humanity speaking in many different languages, to stop the construction of such a Tower again). This is entire foundation of Freemasonry, to build a connection with God despite our differing cultures and races. So why the hell did all the negative connotations come from? To discover how masonry has gained the reputation it holds today we must look to the ancient practice of Alchemy. Along with Geometry, Alchemy is an ancient method of turning a trash metal into a precious one.Any average (normie) person will quickly let you know that the concept of turning steel into gold is ludicrous and was a fanciful daydream of some of the worlds greatest minds that was nothing but a preoccupation whilst the worked in their greatest achievements. Something something baby, something something bath water.... Alchemy also concerned itself with the construction of a device called the Philosophers Stone. A small rock or stone that apparently gave anybody that possessed it the power of immortality. We all remember a certain Professor Quirrel and his attempts to make such a stone in the seminal children’s novel “Harry Potter & The Philosophers Stone” but everybody seemed to focus on the physicality of the stone and not what old Voldemort was actually trying to achieve. Philosophers by definition are concerned with matters of thought not physical matter. Even in the ever more controversial Joanna Rowling’s book, the stone is fathomed by an alchemist/philosopher called Nicholas Flamel (real man btw), who actually decides to give up the power of immortality after realising that being bound to the physical world is not as desirable as once thought much like winning the lottery only to find out that physical possessions cannot make you ultimately happy. This right here is the important distinction that plagues all matters under the bracket of alchemy and esoteric matters in general. The average joe scoffs at the foolish alchemist boiling his urine to distill small amounts of DMT. “Ha, what a fool! Everyone knows you cannot turn base metal into gold! Probably inhaled too much frankincense and opium poor sod” But in fact, it is the punter that has missed the allegory. Again with that damn baby and the aforementioned bathwater. The transmutation of something worthless into something precious is a metaphor for the outside of truth and illumination of the mind. I reiterate, the idea that a philosopher would be concerned with matters of the physical is laughable by definition. But by purifying ones soul, THAT is the key to immortality. That is the big secret of these fraternal groups. They distract you with spooky imagery because the reality of the situation is rather simple. Hence all those winking eyes. That’s why the majority of Masonry’s doctrine concerns morals. In finding a sustainable way to live each person can make their individual mark on society and therefore achieve what the ancient Egyptians called KA.) So this is the point of it all, where did it go wrong? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Schisms and Lodges ———————————————————————- Fraternal societies gather as a lodge inside of a Masonic Temple. Your city will have one, Google it. They are organised in a manner that is allegorical to the holy land with certain areas on accessible by certain members that rank higher than others, this pertains to a map of the Holy Land with the back of lodge being correspondent to Babylonia, the dark land where the original knowledge and fall of man were conceived. Therefore only secretary may enter that part of the lodge. There are many distinctions like this that run through theses groups to make an allegorical connection to the holy land. This is due to the fact that we (the western world) are no longer in the holy land. What I mean to say is that the establishment of the Roman Empire was a direct result of The Crusades. The Knights Hospitaller and subsequent group the Knights Templar both were set up as last bastions of Judaism/Christianity in the holy land. Pilgrims would travel from Europe to the Jerusalem Hospital as basically intelligence agents as a result of what we can call the first schism. schism skĭz′əm, sĭz′-► n. A separation or division into factions. n. A formal breach of union within a religious body, especially a Christian church This word is incredibly important. It speaks to the breakdown of an organisations ideology and the creation of two new entities as a result. The earliest example of this may be the limitless god splitting himself into pieces as a result of boredom(?).) It also seems to occur whenever humans get together in small to large groups. It is for this reason that the landscape of esotericism is so confusing. You have to pursue several thousand years of schisms whilst paying attention to the idea logic differentiation between each newly resulting group that is created. Only then can one see the whole picture and distinctions that each group attempt to make. This page from Carroll’s Liber Null may help explain what I am getting at. The Crusades are a blanket term for a mass schism concerning the rise of Islam in a predominantly Jewish and Christian community. Whilst the above moved into Italy and Europe (surrounding themselves by large walls to assure this didn't happen again), the Arabs collected the left over mysticism left by the old guard and developed it into what is known as Sufism. Esoteric Islam. They are the propagators of alchemy and much of their literature is yet to be understood by the Western World at large. It is in these old Islamic books you will find the root of true alchemy. This explains why alchemy has the controversial reputation it currently has in western culture, knowledge of such schism also speak for the mass slandering of Islam’s image in the western world although that is another story for another day. (and just wait till you find out who the Catholic Church's Baphomet actually is!) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE BOTTOM LINE: Let’s All Go To The Lobby ———————————————————————- In the interest of clarity I intend to keep this short and sweet in its scope. My intention is to get across to the budding truth hunters that coming across the mention of Freemasonry does not in anyway imply malevolence. Freemasonry is largest fraternal group on the planet. Your uncle could be one but so could the president. That does not mean that your uncle is evil or for that matter it doesn’t not mean the president is evil either. It simply means that they have an interest in pushing society forward towards a stronger connection with a divine intelligence. The smaller the group the higher the chances are for malevolence simply due to the fact that a schism is less likely to break out. Small numbers are easier to organise than a large crowd all with differing opinions. Joining freemasonry is akin to entering the lobby of the esoteric world. From that standpoint you can choose to view many different ideologies and small groups. It is at that level which the malevolence which is ultimately pinned entirely on Freemasonry occurs. Although a masonic temples may sport a checkerboard floor, everyday reality is not black and white. It is a murky ambiguous colour that negates definition and at its most basic level, masonry is a relatively benign method to clarify and navigate through that cess pit (chessboard) and once one mills this idea over it becomes apparent that we can put to rest this ongoing misconception that Freemasonry is the big bad boogeyman that is responsible for the Illuminati and all world corruption. The unfortunate reality is that it is a lot more complicated than that. Don’t end up like this guy :) unme the astral tramp ;)
I am currently in a mess of a situation right now where I just found out today that I am pregnant but the reality is that I know for a fact I cannot keep and raise another baby. I am 31 and DH is 36, we have been married 10 years and have 5 kids (4 biologically mine). I currently have custody of the oldest my SD(14) but I cannot realistically keep her in my home any longer due to several mental health issues and extreme behavioral problems that make her a danger to herself and others. She enjoys hurting smaller children/animals and I have been afraid of her at least attempting to stab me to death in my sleep since she was about 9-10. I had to install cameras in all common areas of my home (except the bathroom) and in my bedroom because she lies, steals, destroys, and trashes everything she touches. When she was 12 she and 3 of my bio children were removed from my custody because her mother wanted custody and promised her $3000 and anything she wanted if she lied to cps that my husband had hit and choked her (she later admitted that she lied to live with mom but cps still did not return my children). My bio children went with my parents and I am able to see them every day and still take care of them even though I couldn’t have them over night (I can now). Our rights to my bio children were terminated because even though I followed our cps case plan my husband did not even though he only had to go to counseling but he has excuses for everything claiming that he works 6 days a week (2 are half days) and he didn’t have insurance (they offer a sliding scale fee). Before our rights were terminated for our older children I became pregnant with a beautiful baby girl who I found out has dwarfism 3 weeks before giving birth which would have been perfectly fine with me I would love her no matter what. At the same time I found out about her dwarfism 2 specialist DR’s told me that her rib cage was too small and was in the 3rd percentile and her lungs would not be large enough to support life, they told me she had a 5-10% chance at survival. I had to give birth in a major trauma hospital near the largest children’s hospital in the state with a top notch nicu. Her dwarfism was not genetic and was caused by a mutation at the time of conception, we would have had a better chance at winning the lottery and there was nothing I could have done to cause or prevent it. I knew that our rights were going to be removed and my mother suggested giving up our rights before her birth so that the baby wouldn’t be removed just because of an open cps case. Of course it was just my luck that I gave birth the exact day we had court to do that. My parents left for Disney world with my kids the day I gave birth and my husband had to go back to work the day after I gave birth leaving me alone with my baby in the nicu with no money and no car in a city where I didn’t know anyone or or how to get anywhere. I had to breast feed for free meals (some jail food is better) even though it was very painful and difficult on top of all my stress at the time. Giving birth to her was the most terrifying thing I’ve had to do in my life. Then within the first week of bringing her home cps took her and gave her to my mother, the judge and the gal did not want to buy cps pushed the issue that my husband didn’t go to counseling and she was removed. I am very traumatized due to everything surrounding her birth to the point where I absolutely did not want to have another baby ever and have not wanted to have sex at all. Up until finding out about this pregnancy I was faithfully taking birth control and I feel bad about this but due to my trauma I have only had sex with my husband 4 times since giving birth 11 months ago but still ended up pregnant. I was going to have my tubes tied and even made the appointment but it was canceled until further notice at the time due to covid and I never rescheduled. I know for a fact that I cannot emotionally, physically, financially, socially, or in any way have another child. My husband has finally been going to counseling and doing what he’s supposed to so we are hopefully very close to getting my baby back. The gal and my parents are in support of her returning to my home but my parents are worried about the fact that I ended up with custody of SD (after getting custody her mom kicked her out after 5 months, my mil kicked her out, and then the only foster home that would take her also refused to keep her any longer and cps forced her into my care). I am currently working one of the craziest cps case plans while trying to handle a terrifying 14 year old full of hate and rage, a baby with extra needs, and 3 other children who even though they are not in my care I see them every day. I have to do counseling, parenting classes (after cps told me I didn’t have to), family counseling, help me grow, early intervention, physical therapy (for the baby), dr appointments for everyone, take SD to individual counseling, take her to see her case manager, take her to a tutor, take her to school, pick her up, take my husband back and forth to work (he has no license), weekly cps appointments, and more that I’m probably forgetting. I have become exhausted, depressed, and beat down due to my case load and I am upset that I have so many appointments that if I had a job I would never get to see my children at all. The stress of dealing with SD has made me physically ill and I have been crying so much because I cannot physically or emotionally handle a pregnancy right now. My husband has never helped me with any of our children not even SD. He got custody of her when she was 4 and she came to live with us the same weekend I brought home my newborn son. The very first night I was in pain and struggling with the kids while he played video games and I snapped at him to help me and he just yelled at me and called me lazy which basically explains our entire marriage. There were times where he would not work up to 18 months and had excuses why he couldn’t like not having a license, and I wanted to leave him but I was terrified about leaving SD because nobody would care for her- her mother would disappear for months to a year at a time, and my husband and his family don’t do much of anything for children. When I worked I had to take my kids to my parents to be babysat because my husband wouldn’t get up off the couch the entire time I was gone. The one time I did leave them with him he hadn’t fed them or anything so I refused to leave them with him anymore. I want to leave my marriage but I have nowhere else to go, my family would take me in if they could but the family court judge ruled that I cannot live in their home and disobeying that ruling could possibly get my children removed from my parents and put into foster care. I absolutely cannot keep this baby but I am trying to figure out if I should put the baby up for adoption or have an abortion. I really like the idea of adoption, to me it would be the right thing to do and my teenage self would agree. I think it would be wonderful to give someone the joy of having a baby especially when there are women who can’t conceive no matter how hard they try when I get pregnant by coughing. I also think it would be a good example for the children I already have and be the ideal choice. Having said that I don’t know if I can handle a pregnancy at this time physically or emotionally. I also know for a fact that it would be very hard for me to give up a baby because I absolutely love babies and fall in love before they are born. SD also kicked me in the stomach 3 times when I was 8 months pregnant while I attempted to punish her for harming my son (never spanking). I also don’t really want to have to tell everyone especially cps that I am pregnant because they harshly judged me for it the last time, and my husbands family would dump on me no matter what I do (keeping the baby, adoption, or abortion). I am scared and have no idea what to do but I really have to figure something out before it’s too late and my 2 options turn into 1. Does anyone have any experience or advice? Did you adopt? Give a baby up for adoption? We’re you adopted? And what are your experiences, the good the bad and the ugly. How does adoption effect children? Open adoptions? How much regret did you have after giving up a baby or having an abortion?
[Mechanical Keyboards] Lots of customers left unsatisfied with the result of a recent group buy
If you want an overview of what the mechanical keyboard hobby is all about, what group buys (GBs) are, and a little smidge of drama from the first round of this particular product, please go check out my previous hobbydrama post here: https://www.reddit.com/HobbyDrama/comments/cc3x7s/mechanical_keyboards_satisfaction_is_not/ Now, over the past couple of years there has been a lot of drama in the community surrounding the availability of custom boards. The problem the community is facing is that the number of users has been roughly doubling each year, but the community vendors we have are not able to keep up with such growth. To give you a taste of what it's been like; last year the Satisfaction 75 sold out of 200 units at $400 each in 9 days, and this past weekend they did a round 2 (Now that round 1 buyers finally have their boards) and they sold out 1400 units at $480 each in 14 minutes. But the drama with the Satisfaction75 R2 group buy isn't just about how fast it sold out. It's that a lot of the people who tried to buy one as soon as they were available were met with website failures, and the resulting shitstorm of angry customers was met with a lot of discord bans. But we need to rewind a bit before getting into the details of what happened so things will make sense. Because of the explosive growth of the hobby and the inherently limited nature of the most expensive, premium products within it, there has been a lot of scalping going on. Aftermarket prices for brand new boards after delivery tends to be around 300% of the base cost of the board. Many of the Satisfaction R1 boards that were recently delivered were immediately resold for over $1000. The community vendors have historically avoided putting in absurd profit margins like this because the point of a group buy is to make the product cheaper for everyone. But there's a profit to be made there for opportunists, and with most of the vendors running Shopify websites there have been a lot of people running purchasing bots to ensure they can turn a profit on every first-come-first-served (FCFS) group buy that happens. There has been a lot of debate on the topic about how to run GBs fairly; between raffles, FCFS, auction-style sales, etc. There is no perfect solution to stopping scalpers and making things fair for everyone. The only real foolproof way to stop scalpers is to make production catch up to demand, which is not feasible right now. So considering that nearly every keyboard GB in 2020 has hit a maximum order limit in mere minutes and so many of those are going to scalpers, one of the vendors in the community, Upas, decided he was going to do a couple of things to make sure his products wouldn't meet the same fate: ramping up production dramatically, and making his own checkout/bot detection software to prevent scalpers from abusing the sale. Enter the Satisfaction 75 R2 group buy. It was announced that there would be over 1000 units available, making it one of the largest custom keyboard GBs ever. The new checkout software had been hyped up as a solution to the botting problem for months prior, with Upas talking about it on the popular Top Clack show back in September. At the announcement of the sale, people were definitely glad to hear that there would be so many units available since the lack of production has been the root of the issue. Some people didn't like the 20% price increase over round 1, but both were viewed as things that would make the sale last longer and ensure that everyone who wanted to buy one would be able to. I mean, how many people are really willing to spend over $500 (after shipping) on a few pieces of metal and a PCB that they won't even get for a full year? It turns out, a lot of people were willing to spend over $500 on the promise of a few pieces of metal and a PCB. After all, it has a pretty volume knob with a compass rose engraved in it! It comes in green this time! We've all been stuck inside so long that buying things online practically counts as therapy, right?? Okay, so now that the stage is set, what exactly happened? Well, the vendor's website essentially crashed as soon as the GB was scheduled to start. Whoops! So things get pushed back a day to Sunday morning, they'll beef up their servers for the thousands of people checking out at once since they were only expecting hundreds. Oh, and now is a good time to mention that the company runs a discord server, which is pretty standard for a small company in the community like this. Calling it chaotic would be an understatement. The delay did not help things. So come Sunday morning, they do it again. Thousands of people start the purchasing process at the same time, all trying to pay as fast as they can. But although the website doesn't crash entirely, there were still issues. For one, when checking out there was an oddly placed checkbox that needed to be checked (top left in image) if you wanted the actual keyboard and not just a PCB. People who missed this had to restart the checkout process, or if they didn't catch the mistake before paying they were subject to a 3% return fee. Additionally, many people had an issue with their cart giving them an error that prevented them from checking out. And so, 14 minutes after the sale opened, all 1400 spots were sold out. It would have been much sooner, but the checkout system uses a weird mix of FCFS and raffle that I won't get into, but the issues with the checkout process made a lot of people feel like it was the company's fault they didn't win the lottery. Since the discord server gives every potential customer direct access to all 4 employees of the company, hundreds of people who didn't get one decided to make it known that it was the company's fault. The chaos that was people asking dumb questions became people flaming the employees. So bans start getting handed out. Now, I can't personally comment on how heavy-handed the moderation was. There are a handful of people who claim to have been banned for saying anything even relatively negative about the GB/company. But from what I saw there were definitely a lot of people that were just spamming complaints, hate, threats, etc. Eventually some of the drama spilled over to /mechanicalkeyboards. Upas posted a thread detailing what happened, addressing many of the complaints and apologizing for the issues, but it doesn't seem to have done much to alleviate all the salt surrounding the whole debacle. So where does this leave us now? To say the least, until the companies that were started up to satisfy mechanical keyboard hobbyists are able to scale up significantly we'll continue to see these problems. Upas decided that shutting down Discord in the days surrounding group buys would be the best way forward in terms of reducing the number of death threats, and I hope that other vendors follow suit. But with the popularity of the Satisfaction still surging a year and a half after the original renders were posted, I expect this won't be the last bit of drama we see from these keyboards.
This is my first post on the subject so please let me know what you like and don’t like about it, I’m open to constructive criticism, I hope you enjoy this much as much as I do because I’m fascinated with both families and the feud itself. It’s also something different to the sub as it’s always the Italian/ American mafia so I thought I’d change things up a bit. I’m going to split it into 3 parts and they are 1. The Hutch’s family & criminal history 2. The Kinahans family & criminal history 3. The Feud between both families The two main factions involved in the Feud are the Hutch & Kinahan families, who both come from North Dublin which to this day is rampant with crime. Since 2015 there have been 18 murders and over 60 arrests and is one of the most violent and brutal gang wars the country has ever witnessed. Many innocent victims who have absolutely no involvement in crime were shot dead due to fact that their last name was “Hutch” or it was a case of mistaken identity. Backstory on The Hutch Family; Gerry “The Monk” Hutch was born in the North Inner city of Dublin in 1963, he was christened “The Monk” by journalist Veronica Guerin (Shot dead June, 1996) as he lead a “disciplined, aesthetic lifestyle” since he left prison in 1985 which he vowed to never go back to, and he never did. At 5:30am on the 26th January 1987, 3 masked and armed men held up and robbed 1.3 Million Pounds from a Securicor Cash & Transit Van outside the bank of Ireland in Marino Mart in Dublin. This was the largest heist ever pulled off in The Republic of Ireland at the time, Gerry Hutch was the main suspect. Money from that robbery ended up in Gerry Hutch’s Northern Ireland Bank Account but he claims it was compensation money. Mr Hutch was questioned for the robbery but was never charged. 8 years after the Marino Mart Robbery, a gang of masked and armed men broke into The Brinks Allied Security Cash depot and stole over 2.8 Million pounds in cash, over 8 times the amount of what was stolen the first time around, it was the biggest robbery ever pulled off in Ireland, the money was never recovered. A Garda enquiry was made once again for the main suspect Gerry Hutch in which he was arrested and questioned about the robbery, he was later released without charge. Another reason why Gerry Hutch is feared and not be messed with in Dublin is that a man named Mel Cox (50) a scrap dealer from the north inner city, was shot dead outside his home in Blanchardstown. Such as Irish tradition, it was alleged that Mel got into an argument with Gerry and attacked him in a pub whilst they were out drinking and later payed for it with his life. Gerry Hutch, once again, was never charged with the murder. With his money earned from the proceeds of crime, Gerry Hutch founded the “Corinthians Boxing Club” and is a treasurer of the club. It acts as a boxing club and also a gym for the locals in the area. The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB); This bit is copied from Wikipedia, it’s reads as follows. “In 1999, in the course of court proceedings brought against Hutch by the Irish state's anti-money laundering agency, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), Detective Chief Superintendent Felix McKenna stated that Hutch had been involved in the IR£1.7 million robbery of an armoured van at Marino Mart in January 1987 and the £3 million armed robbery of a Brinks Allied Security Depot in Clonshaugh, County Dublin, in 1995, which had been the largest cash robbery in the State at the time.[3][9] Hutch eventually reached an £1.2m settlement with the CAB to "cover back taxes and interest for a nine-year period".[3][10] Carry Any Body; After Hutch’s settlement he applied for his taxi licence and was granted one. He then set up a limousine service known as “Carry Any Body” which is a small dig at the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB). During Mike Tyson’s visit to Ireland he was picked up in Gerry Hutch’s limousine and was featured alongside him in a few pictures Hutch Family Members with criminal convictions; Gary Hutch (34) was a nephew of The Monk and a known criminal in Dublin with numerous previous convictions. He was said to have been a known associate and life long friend of now convicted murderer “Fat” Freddy Thompson who is serving life behind bars, Paddy Doyle an alleged hitman who is said to have been behind numerous hits during the Crumlin/Drimnagh feud which left dozens dead in the early 2000’s. Doyle was shot dead in a jeep back in February 4th 2008 whilst Gary and Freddy Thompson were in the jeep alongside him. But the main player who Gary allegedly worked for and would eventually have him killed was Daniel Kinahan, son of international drug smuggler Christy Kinahan Sr. who will be featured in part 2. Gary was eventually double crossed and was shot dead in the Costa Del Sol in September 2015, he was the first Hutch family member to be shot dead in the feud. His murder sparked the Hutch Vs Kinahan feud which led to the “audacious attack on the regency hotel boxing weigh in.” Derek “Del Boy” Hutch (age unknown) is also a convicted criminal and is now serving a lengthy prison sentence for firearms possession and manslaughter, he won’t be released until 2025. Patrick Hutch (26) brother of Gary & Derek Hutch, was the only family member to be charged and trialed in Dublin after the Regency Hotel attack and murder of David Byrne. He was later let go due to the trial falling apart as the lead detective in the case died and he was not able to lead evidence on a number of topics. Patrick walked free from court that very same day. Ross Hutch (28) is also a low level criminal with small time convictions. He featured on the Irish tv show “Winning Streak” where he played on behalf of his brother Eddie. The pair walked away with €33,000 in cash and prized from the national lottery. He has survived numerous attacks and attempts on his life since the feud began Derek Hutch (28) another nephew of The Monk is another low level player in crime, he was charged and convicted in 2017 for a robbery where he produced an imitation of a firearm but received a suspended sentence. He was shot dead in his car in Clondalkin, 2018. I will post another one now which shows pictures of the people involved just so you know who’s who. I just wanted this to be an overview of The Hutch family and some of the players involved. So this is part 1 finished I hope you all enjoyed it please let me know any faults you have with this or if you enjoyed it, thanks a million.
So, to start off I just want to say asexual people are totally valid and this is just my personal experience so my intention is in no way to suggest it’s just a ‘phase’. I’m in my 30s and during my late teens/20s I’d come to the conclusion that I may be asexual. I wanted to fall in love and have relationships but I didn’t have that sex drive everybody was always talking about, I didn’t watch porn, didn’t crush on people often etc. I would very occasionally masturbate but generally had no interest in what is ‘down there’. I’ve had one relationship in my late 20s that ended sourly because he got frustrated about not having a ‘normal’ sex life. We attempted penetration and it was horribly painful and he was unable to stimulate me clitoraly so we gave up. Unfortunately he was the worst kind of partner for somebody like me both emotionally and sexually and I basically swore off of dating ever since. This is also when I figured I may have vaginismus but I just ignored it as I assumed I’d never have sex anyway. Fast forward to last summer and I had a lot of extra time due to working from home and I live alone. I was being pestered by automatic letters urging me to get a my annual cervical smear (I’d always ignored them). I decided maybe I should start trying to figure out what was going on so I could at least get checked out if I needed to. I bought a few vibrators and Lo and behold, figured I could actually get quite aroused when using a bullet on my clitoris in a very specific way. I was unable to insert anything vaginally though so I got a dilator kit and managed to progress to the largest size (which is still uncomfortable but I’m getting used to it). I’ve managed to use a slim vibrator and insert my fingers and I feel really proud about it considering it was such a point of anxiety for me! Now I’m thinking about potentially getting back into the dating game after COVID with my new found confidence. I feel like maybe a lot of my anxieties around entering relationships were due to not feeling like I could be sufficiently aroused or penetrated and that I was ‘broken’ and not good enough for any man. Now I just figure maybe I don’t have a huge sex drive but maybe I can enjoy sex and intimacy now. After years of it being a weird distant pipe dream like winning the lottery, maybe it will finally happen! Has anybody had a similar experience? Have you managed to find enjoyment in sex after getting to know your body and mind better?
R1 of EE's "Are the 'Extreme' Economic Systems Totally Pointless?" Part 1
The market has spoken: you demanded, and I am supplying. This is fact part 1 of my analysis of Economics' Explained video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eL2Bq-U7GQ&t=330s. It's an older video, but it took quite some time to do the research for this video. And because I think it's worth looking at these claims in details, I am breaking this up in smaller parts. I've separated this into 2 videos for my Economics YouTube channel, part 1 and part 2. Just a note before I start, the reason I only look at the historical aspects of his video is because this is what he is focusing on when discussing communism v capitalism. It's just that I don't quote these parts, and instead dive into the data we have on the Industrial Revolution. --------------------------------- 00:40-00:58 In describing communism he says:
....an economy where goods and services are distributed by needs rather than by means. An economy where people could not rest on their laurels of being land or capital owners to get by without ever needing to contribute any personal effort.
Yeah but what does it mean to ‘rest on your laurels?’ by being a capital or land owner? I mean, it certainly sounds bad that the majority of us have to go to work whilst others get to sit back and receive ‘passive income’. According to EE, this requires no personal effort. We will break down the analysis of his claims into looking at returns to capital and land from a historical perspective, since EE is discussing history. It is also useful to look at the historical returns during the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution, as this was a time of great change, and people, both rich and poor, had to adapt to the new conditions. The question then comes down to: could you simply stay rich or get richer by simply being born into a wealthy family? Could you in fact have an easy life where most people did the work while you got to sit back and enjoy the riches? As we’ll see, the answer is more complex than you might think. Capital owners A capital owner is someone who owns shares. So if you’re investing in the stock market, regardless of how much, you’re technically an owner of capital. Of course this doesn’t necessarily confer voting rights over the company, or any other privileges, as compared to someone with a much larger share, but this doesn’t invalidate the fact you have a financial stake in the company. Will you always make money if you’re invested in the stock market? And has this been true historically? Well, sure, as long as you’re investing for the long term. Would investing in the stock market in the 19th century had made you even as remotely as rich as the elite? Absolutely not. https://voxeu.org/article/new-monthly-indices-british-stock-market-1829-1929 There are 3 charts there that I don't want to link here for space reasons. As we can see, stock market returns have been going up since 1829, but there are many small dips, and these could easily be enough to wipe out new investors. However, these are all short term, and you must continue having your money in the stock market to participate in the gains. You can’t panic sell, as much as you might want to in the short-term. Think about people that sold shares during the bear market this year, and if they haven’t re-entered the market since, they’ve missed out of the upside as markets around the world climb higher. At around 1750, the traditional starting date of the Industrial Revolution, from Mokyr (2009) we understand there exists a middle class. About 1/7 people are estimated to have been in the middle class around this time, and although small, this proportion grew over the course of the industrial revolution. The middle class did invest in the stock market and participated in the market economy, earning returns and would certainly be capital owners. Would they become as rich as the traditional elite using this method? Absolutely not. And so the simple story of ‘resting on your laurels’ by being a capital owner applies to a lot of us! And it applied to a growing number of people from the 1700s too. You might say the rich people can afford to invest more money into the stock market and then live off the interest that gives them, and yet their wealth and income is still subject to the whims of the movements of the market. If you want the best returns from the stock market, you have to take risks, it’s not something you can just set and forget. The only way to do the latter is to invest in a broad index and invest just for the long-term. What about landowners? During the 18th and 19th centuries, the landed elite did indeed hold a vast amount of their fortunes in land. (Nicholas(1), Pp. 39) says, “The largest landowners were the hereditary aristocrats.” This adds fuel to the claims made by EE so far. This only started to come undone during the end of the 19th century, with both popular pressure and law reforms. There are many details here that aren’t worth going into for this R1, but the popular perception at the time was that the landed elite were able to hold onto vast holdings of land, and pass this down generations in the same family. People also noted that the rich tended to increase their landholding over time, gobbling up smaller land holders. These perceptions are certainly borne out by the evidence (Nicholas (1) 1999). From Nicholas(2) we understand that for the period, the vast majority of businessmen held only about ⅙ of their wealth in land. Despite how rich these people became, this new wealth was not enough on its own to enter the high society of the established elite. There were certainly no financial barriers preventing them purchasing large blocks of land, but the power of the elite was enough to stop these nouveau riche from entering the property game. This would certainly add fuel to the claim that the largest landowners were protecting their economic rents and being born into such a family increased the likelihood of inheriting that wealth. Certainly these families jealously guarded their landholding as their wealth allowed many of these people to relax and live easier lives than the rest of the working class, or indeed the new industrialists. And yet we get the following quote from (Nicholas(2), Pp. 22): “Businessmen had few economic incentives to purchase land. Land was relatively unremunerative, unless mortgaged against credit, and the opportunity cost was government securities which were higher yielding and did not entail a cost of maintenance.” The land game was almost exclusively for the aristocrats. And so changing times brought about changing circumstances, and land no longer provided the returns it once did. “Landowning wealth was eroded and undermined by a fall in rents, prices, and confidence” (Nicholas(1), Pp. 42). The falling rents occurred partially because of increased foreign competition. The elite responded by increasingly turning to business, either directly, or as rentiers in order to safeguard their incomes. (Nicholas (1) 1999). Let us look at a graph mapping the returns to Consoles vs years’ purchase of land from 1795 to 1930. https://imgur.com/a/6blliHL So admittedly I don’t know exactly how to read the graph, but from the source, the higher the years’ purchase, the worse the returns are. We see that consoles still had better returns than land until the 1880s. This would imply that land was a smaller risk than consoles, but the higher price might reflect the fact that people were willing to bid up prices given that large landholding was the realm of the landed gentry. How do we answer what EE said in the video? Large landowners did exist and they did expand their landholding, and certainly did not have to work as hard as the majority of the population. Being born into such a family was winning a lottery and there was a good chance you would inherit the wealth. And yet that’s not the entire story. As we’ve seen, the returns to land were actually lower than that of consoles, suggesting there were reasons other than wealth to hold onto land. These included things such as prestige and social standing. And yet, even as the aristocrats expanded their landholding, the returns to land were going down and it actually wasn’t economical for the new industrialists to buy land, even if they weren’t blocked by the aristocrats from entering the market. In fact, toward the end of the 19th century, many large landowners began diversifying their assets and started investing in industry and other sectors of the economy. Many aristocrats did indeed have it easy, but as the Industrial Revolution ran its course, a growing proportion had to work and fight for their wealth. There were popular movements, there were law changes, which changed the game on the rich and they had to adapt or lose it all. Very few got to ‘rest on their laurels’ as claimed, and this applied to capital owners too. A middle class did exist from the 1700s, and these people did indeed invest in the stock market and other areas of the economy. There was no simple monoliths of ‘rich’ who did nothing, and ‘poor’ who did all the work. 4:50-5:00
The world in the 1800s was getting wealthier, steam power, railroads, telegrams all enabled business to be done and wealth to be created on a scale that would have been unimaginable some 100 years earlier. But all the while, living conditions had not improved for average workers, and in pollution filled cities lined with soul-crushing factories, they had probably gone backwards. This was because average workers did not control the mans of production.
It’s a very large stretch to say this is all caused because people didn’t own the means of production. It should be noted that as machinery became more commonplace, the dangerous working conditions were well recognised and that women and children were soon barred from the factory work. Whilst we cannot read the minds of the people making the laws at the time, they certainly do seem to have been paternalistically minded when campaigning for and then constructing those laws. There is also good evidence people got additional pay to compensate them for the dangerous conditions. And so it seems many people were making rational decisions based on the incentives on offer. Let’s look at worker cooperatives in some detail To join a cooperative, eligible workers must purchase an initial share. The price can be very low in some industries that don’t need large capital investments. It is in the interests of the cooperative to keep the share prices low to encourage a broader membership. However shares can be far more expensive, for example in Isthmus Engineering, a worker cooperative in Madison, Wisconsin, a share costs $10,000 (Artz & YounJun 2011). Workers share in the profits based on how much labor they put into the firm, rather than investment. This can be determined by the number of hours worked, by earnings or a combination of the two. In addition, people who have been there longer may get a larger share of the profits. Performance of modern worker cooperatives Perotin (2012) finds output was either the same or higher in cooperatives as compared to conventional firms in the same industry. This held across all industries they looked at. “Worker cooperatives are never found to be less productive than conventional firms and may be more productive“ (Perotin Pp. 19)”. That seems conclusive enough, but there is some nuance as the story of production can get more complex, “....If conventional firms organized production in the same way as the cooperatives, they might produce more with their current average input levels in these industries” (Perotin Pp. 18). (Artz & Younjun 2011) Found that cooperatives had lower quit rates relative to similar conventional firms. Worker cooperatives adjust pay rather than firing people during downturns, so that cooperative members bear financial risk rather than employment risk. The success of the cooperative really depends on whether workers have much say in the governance of the firm. (Molk Pp. 941) concludes by saying, “Cooperatives have lower failure rates than comparable investor-owned rivals, after controlling for a variety of factors such as firm size, age, and industry.” The drawbacks of cooperatives Cooperatives can face chronic underinvestment into the firm, which may favour short-term projects; there might be a tendency to not want to grow the firm since that dilutes the person’s shares in the firm. There can be a temptation to sell out to owners in order to cash out investment into the firm, which can’t be realised any other way. (Perotin Pp. 22) concludes that, “A common pattern among such companies is that after a few years, especially if the firm is successful, worker members sell the company to a conventional owner.” If you’re planning on leaving the cooperative sometime soon, you will not want funds diverted from your share in the business to go into either long-term projects or machinery maintenance. You will not see the benefits these projects will bring. So why aren’t there more cooperatives? Given the benefits clearly outweigh the drawbacks, we should expect to see more worker cooperatives. But why aren’t they more of a thing? And from EEs quote, why weren’t they more of a thing during the Industrial Revolution? From Molk (2014), we understand they are difficult to form because entrepreneurs don’t get much personally out of starting a cooperative; there can be difficulty in managing worker cohesion, especially if the workers are heterogeneous and because of inefficient distribution among members. There can be difficulty attracting entrepreneurial talent and insufficient rewards for high ability workers. Cooperatives often face higher costs, because the firm predominantly only gets investment from its members. It is found that workers essentially sort themselves by ability when joining cooperatives and so joining or starting a cooperative is not always a straight-forward and simple process. It certainly can be a more difficult process than going to an interview and getting hired, even as annoying as that process can be. Most cooperatives tend to be small, as concentration at the top can’t happen if each person has an equal say in what happens to the business. But this small size means the cooperatives won’t necessarily hire more people as quickly as a corresponding traditional business. The same managers tend to have less oversight, which can harm the efficiency of the business. Managers will want higher wages than those earned by the members, and those members may not accept the wage difference. The most successful worker cooperatives, such as Mondragon, have restricted worker control by delegating authority to elected boards. And as a historical example of this, crew members and boat owners in the 19th century whaling industry held shares in the profits from a successful voyage, but the captain made the decisions at sea, not the shareholders (Kremer 1997). The entrepreneur What kind of person or people start a cooperative? Most cooperatives form from the initiatives of a single entrepreneur, and that person requires a different attitude to a normal entrepreneur looking to start a business. As these people are rarer, cooperatives are similarly rarer. Also, converting a firm into a cooperative is costly, even if at the individual level there might be benefits to do so. There’s a coordination problem. From (Molk Pp. 933) we learn that entrepreneurs desire wealth and autonomy as their primary reason for starting a business, “With society-oriented measures of pursuing a personal vision, status, respect, or concern for the community of distant secondary importance” (Molk, Pp. 933). Entrepreneurs are not incentivised to start businesses as a cooperative, because they cannot take an outsize profit share from the business if it’s successful. And yet, because the failure rate for new businesses is so high, it must be possible to get such profits to act as an incentive in the first place. “In this way, starting a cooperative is analogous to supplying a public good: the entrepreneur must share the profits from ownership among other member-owners." (Molk, Pp. 931) And so from the evidence, we get that even when cooperatives would be the efficient form for a particular business, they won’t form due to the difficulties involved. How does this stack up to what EE said? Going from the evidence I have seen, I fail to see how worker cooperatives could have saved the first generations of industrial workers. There were in fact some worker cooperatives alive during the later half of the 19th century, but they don't seem to have been a large factor in the economy. I also don't see how the economy would have grown as it did if worker cooperatives were the norm rather than the outlier. And that is if they could have been started in sufficient numbers anyway, since as we've already seen, they're quite hard to form these days let alone in the 19th century. I imagine people would have been more hostile toward worker cooperatives back then on top of all of this, but this attitude wasn't realistically going to suddenly change on a large scale during the Industrial Revolution. Certainly factory conditions for the early workers were terrible, and remained so for many decades. But they did eventually improve with popular movements and law changes. Would such changes have happened if worker cooperatives had been the norm? Hard to answer that counterfactual, but given everything said so far, if we had re-rolled the dice on the Industrial Revolution, it is hard to ever see a scenario where they become the norm. All this is to say that the simplistic version of history EE is presenting (so far!) can safely be discarded, but it is worth pointing out that his points often lean into popular (but incorrect or incomplete) conceptions people have of history. Such claims, much as EE's claims, 'sound correct'. And so I hope that in my own small way I can start correcting the record. Sources: Artz, G, M, Younjun, K, 2011, “Business Ownership by Workers: Are Worker Cooperatives a Viable Alternative?” Nicholas, T, 1999, (1) “businessmen and land ownership in the late nineteenth century” Nicholas, T, 2000, (2) “businessmen and land purchase in the late nineteenth century” Perotin, V, 2012, “The Performance of Workers’ Cooperatives” Mokyr, J, The Enlightened Economy: An Economic History of Britain 1700-1850 Molk, P, 2014, “The Puzzling Lack of Cooperatives” Kremer, M, 1997, “Why are Worker Cooperatives so Rare?”
A slight departure from the usual source of Sports Bet information that you'll find here, I thought of compiling some figures to show the biggest lottery winners in history. Unlike lottery winners, us sport betting fans have a much higher chance of success - you're more likely to get hit by lightning than to win any of these lottery payouts, but it's still fun to dream about what you might do with the winnings! The biggest lottery winner in America won an insane $1.537 billion jackpot back in 2019 on a Mega Millions lottery draw. The biggest ever jackpot through the Powerball game, which ended up being shared between 3 ticket holders was very close at $1.537 billion. One further ticket has broken the billion dollar mark in winnings at a staggering $1.05 billion. There have been a further 48 lottery drawings that have smashed the 300+ million dollar mark. Unlike some other locations in the world, these amounts are taxed afterwards but the winners will certainly still be in the super rich club. Taking a look at Europe, there have been some huge wins all over - the largest has been a 200 million Euro ticket in France during December 2020 as part of the Euromillions lottery. Another four winners have collected 190 million Euro prizes in the last ten years. Eurojackpot is another lottery that has a maximum 90 million Euro payout and it has paid out 12 times so far. Most European countries also have local lotteries that have created - 209 million was won through Italy's SuperEnalotto in August 2019. Finally we take a look at the Spanish Christmas Lottery, called "Sorteo Extraodinario de Navidad", which is widely considered to be the biggest lottery game in the world. If we travel back to 2012, the first prize was €730 million which exchanged to $941.8 million at the time). It has progressively gotten ridiculously higher through the years, in 2016 the total prize pool was €2.31 billion ($2.414 billion) and in 2020 it reached a mind blowing €2.38 billion which was equivalent to $2.897 billion.
[WP] The air we breathe is actually an extremely hallucinogenic substance that affects all of your senses. One day, you stumble upon a strange-looking gas mask sitting on a bench in a park, when you put it on you slowly start to see and feel the world the way it truly is.
original post Nathaniel- Nat to his friends- gasped for air as he rounded a turn in the lightly forested path of his local park. After 5 minutes of mentally screaming “1 more minute and you can stop!” at himself he’d finally hit his limit, grinding to a halt beside a bench. This whole “physical exercise” thing was harder than he’d remembered. He’d already sat halfway down when he spotted it; hanging by a strap from the bench’s arm was what appeared to be an old gas mask. “What the hell are you doing here?” Nat wondered aloud, picking it up. The thing screamed World War 1, that classic greenish-brown cone design with the filter on the end, the kind of mask that made you look like an anteater that had lost a fight with a cheese grater. It was too much for a history buff like him to handle, Nat took it with him. He walked the rest of the way home to his apartment staring down at his prize with a smile normally reserved for phone numbers left on napkins or winning lottery tickets. That night proved two things, that his girlfriend Hazel had the patience of a saint for ever moving in with him, and that men like Nathaniel never truly grew up. “Nat, I swear to god if you don’t scrub your face raw after you take that thing off I’m not kissing you,” Hazel said that night as she finished brushing her teeth. Her boyfriend leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom, doing his best to breathe like Darth Vader as he watched her. She was wearing her favorite shorts to bed again, he’d always loved those. “You will when I mind trick you,” Nat said, his voice heavily muffled by the cumbersome mask. He raised his right hand towards her, waving it through the air. “This is the man you were looking for.” Hazel shook her head at him silently, trying as hard as she could to hide the smile that was already pulling at her mouth. “Yea well don’t take too long Luke, we’ve gotta get up early in the morning.” She slapped his butt playfully as she walked by, Hazel had never been a night owl like her boyfriend was. “Hey that was Obi Wan’s line!” Nat called after her, genuinely sounding hurt. Hazel simply sighed and continued shaking her head all the way to the bedroom. Nat stood alone in the bathroom then, staring into the mirror at himself still in the mask. It looked pretty badass and all but maybe she was right, it was time to go to bed. Nat only got as far as reaching for his toothbrush before he gave up, turning to skulk down the stairs in an action pose holding a pantomime rifle. He walked across the living room and out the backdoor as imaginary shells rained down all around him, gas hanging in thick clouds near ground level as Nat broke through into the no-man’s land of his backyard. He stood stretching on his porch for a moment, a soldier wouldn’t want to pull a hamstring on the charge to the next trench. “Oh fuck, no he didn’t!” Nat froze stiff. He knew he’d just heard that but...what kind of voice was that? “Damn right he did! And then Sharon went and called Bud, it was a disaster I tell you, a disaster!” Nat’s head turned slowly down and to the right, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he could just make them out in the yard, not even 20 feet away. Two of the largest raccoons he’d ever seen sat in the grass having a conversation. And the grass beneath them was…..pink?? “Shh, Shhh, Phil!!! The human can see us.” The raccoons froze just as stiff as the human, a trio of petrified creatures trapped in a Mexican Standoff of stares. “Phil he’s not moving.” “I know Brenda I know, we might have to bolt.” The raccoons were still talking. Nat wasn’t even sure how to describe the emotion coursing through him, it was the strangest mixture of fear and curiosity possible, with laughter threatening to edge its way in. “How can I understand you?” Nat asked the raccoons. “He can understand us Phil.” “Goddamnit Brenda I heard him!” “I never thought animals cussed,” Nat said. The raccoon he assumed to be Phil stared at him like he was an idiot in response. “Everything cusses dumbass, raccoons just turned it into an artform” Phil said. “You want grotesque you should hear those doves, man those guys are foul!” “Heh, foul. Fowl, nice one Phil” Brenda chuckled. Suddenly her expression (Nat wasn’t even sure how he could read their expressions) turned horrified. "Oh shit Phil it’s HER! Run!” As the pair took off across the yard all the grass they stepped on turned pink, lighting up the backyard like one of those LED mall floors they have for kids. In their wake the grass shifted to a dark red, visibly shivering. As the shouted expletives of the raccoons faded into the distance a powerful flapping noise came from the east, passing over the house. If the raccoons before had seemed oversized this was something else, Nat’s jaw dropped to the floor as an owl the size of a Cessna dropped to the Earth in front of him. “So you found my mask, huh?” The Owl spoke to Nat in the most shockingly beautiful female voice he’d ever heard, as if all the women he’d ever heard before had been mere shadows imitating this one. He made a mental note to be extra nice to Hazel in the morning, perhaps make her breakfast as an apology. “Your mask? This thing? Uhh, I’m really really sorry Ma’am, you can have it back.” Nat reached up to undo the straps at the back of his head, there was no way he was arguing with an animal that big. “No! Leave it on, it will take several more hours for the effects to become permanent.” The owl’s eyes seemed to bore into his soul. Whatever he’d felt before now Nat knew it was pure fear. “This isn’t happening, none of this is real. You aren’t real, Phil and Brenda weren’t real, someone put something in this filter and now I’m high as a kite, that’s all this i-” before Nat had finished his sentence the bird was on him, it’s massively hooked beak around his entire shoulder, the point sitting lightly against his skin but sharp enough to draw blood. Whatever was happening that pain was real. “Ok, ok I believe you. Something real is definitely happening. But please, if it’s your mask you can explain it to me, can’t you? Who even are you?” The owl released him, blinking hard several times and then turning its head around in either direction, almost like a stretch. Suddenly a blinding light erupted from the bird and when Nat could see again the owl was gone, replaced by the only woman in the world beautiful enough to fit the voice he had heard. She was tall and olive skinned with long black hair down to the center of her back. She wore a shockingly white robe. “A long time ago a trickster god played a prank on the world, you might know him as Loki. Loki, like all his people, lacked wisdom however and as a result it went horribly wrong, growing worse and worse as the years passed. Tell me, what do you see around you Nathaniel?” “Call me Nat,” he said as he looked around. “All the colors are wrong, everything reacts to everything else. When the wind blows I hear the tree in the yard sighing with it, and the moon! Something is different about the moon!” “Ah yes, her.” the woman said, smiling. “All in due time Nat. You’re beginning to see the real world, not the sad copy you humans have exploited. You’ve hallucinated the soul out of the world and replaced it with a shell of lies where humans are the only intelligent life.” She stroked his face gently. “You’ll be the first, there’s something in you, something different. A childlike quality. Now go,” she made a shooing motion, “back to your woman. Keep her close in the days to come. And do not take that mask off tonight.” The strange woman turned to go, springing into the air and shifting back to an owl midflight. “Wait, who are you?” Nat called after her. The owl turned, hovering in the air for a moment. “I am Athena.” As the words died out she was gone. The next morning Hazel awoke with a start to find Nat asleep in the bed beside her, fully clothed, gas mask still on.
NBA Christmas Day takeaways: Nets' Kevin Durant is back in MVP form; Warriors have big problems
This year's NBA Christmas Day slate was like seeing a massive box waiting for you underneath the tree only to find a bunch of socks inside. The five games scheduled for Dec. 25featured majorstars and storylines, but three of those contests were decided by 23 points or more, including the Bucks' 138-99 shellacking of the Warriors in Milwaukee. The Clippers and Heat each won their matchups by "only" 13 points. A couple of barnburners! So what did we really learn about theteams that played on Christmas Day? Let's dive into each game.MORE: Why LeBron James sees himself in Luka DoncicHeatmay have foundanother hiddengem in Precious AchiuwaThe praise of "Heat Culture" can feel overblown at times, but it's hard to argue with Miami's ability to develop players. Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro — there is plenty of evidence here.It looks like the Heat have discovered yet another promising prospect in 2020 first-round pick Precious Achiuwa. The 21-year-old forward totaled 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and one block in 19 minutes off the bench Friday afternoon. His high motor and athleticism were on full display.Achiuwa also wasn'tcompletely lost when isolated against Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. In fact, he did a terrific job of staying in front of both Ingram and Williamson without fouling, no easy task for a rookie playing in only his second regular season game. Precious Achiuwa only played 19 minutes but he played great defense on Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram in his limited minutesMoved his feet well and stayed in front of them. Already showing he can guard multiple positions. pic.twitter.com/T1mc0gAdK9 — Fanly (@fanly) December 26, 2020"I've been impressed with from the jump, just because he works so hard, whatever you ask him to do to the best of his ability, he's going to do it," Heat forwardJimmyButler said after Miami's season opener. "And he wants to win. What else can you ask from a young fella? What else can you ask from a rookie? And I think that he'ssupposed to be comfortable."Like I said about everybody, 'You belong here. You belong with the Miami Heat. They drafted you for a reason, so get used to it.'And I think he's going to be a huge help to us in what we're trying to do moving forward."Sure, it's very early in Achiuwa's career, but it wouldn't be that surprising to see him become a consistent part of Erik Spoelstra's rotation.Is Golden State just . . .not a good team?Only a few days removed from a brutal loss to the Nets, Stephen Curry and the Warriors failed to even give the Bucks a challenge. What's the problem, Steph? Asked what have been the largest issues through the first two games, Steph Curry said, "I mean, a lot." — Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) December 25, 2020Yep, not great. Golden State's point differential of minus-65 through two games is the second-worst mark in NBA history, per ESPN Stats and Info.As Sporting News' Dan Bernstein noted, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andrew Wiggins have been particularly bad, shooting a combined 14 of 58 on field goals (24.1 percent)and 2 of 21 on 3-pointers (9.5 percent).Context is required, of course. Klay Thompson is out for the season. Draymond Green has yet to take the floor this season. Curry isshaking off the rust. These are certainly not the "Death Lineup" Warriors.Still, Golden State didn't enter this seasonbelieving it would be a lottery team. The Warriors want to reach the playoffs. Theyhave a lot of work to do.Kevin Durant looks a lot like Kevin DurantRemember that time a reporter asked Clippers guards Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams what they could have done to slow Kevin Durant down after he dropped 50 points on them? Do you remember how they responded?"I mean, he's Kevin Durant," Beverley said."I promise we tried," Williams added.Well, that dude is back. Durant scored 29 points on 9-of-16 shooting as the Nets cruised to an easy victory over the Celtics. He caught fire in the third quarter, hitting his first five shots and putting poor Tristan Thompson in the torture chamber. I understand starting big against Milwaukee but this is unfair to ask Thompson to have to guard KD. He's gotten killed in every aspect and it isn't his fault, it is a mismatch. pic.twitter.com/QiUCiYOeKR — Mo Dakhil (@MoDakhil_NBA) December 25, 2020Durant isn't the only reason why Brooklyn could be a real title contender. Kyrie Irving appears to be back to 100 percent after playing in only 20 games last season, and Steve Nash's squad is deep with talent at multiple positions. Defending the Nets is a nightmare.But a peakKD can raise this team's ceiling in a way that none of his teammates can. I mean, he's Kevin Durant.Mavericks haveto get better on the boardsSecond-chance points: Lakers 35, Mavericks 0. It's the first time Dallas has finished a game with no second-chance points since February 2017. Both Mavs coach Rick Carlisle and guard Luka Doncic agreed that differential was the main culprit in the loss."I don't think I've ever seen a game where the team has given up 35 points on second-chance and got to zero,"Carlisle said. "It's obviously the story of the game. We talk about being in a hit-first mode, and we just were not." Luka Doncic on the Lakers' dominance on the glass: "It's everything about mentality and toughness. It's got to be mental. If somebody's rebounding like that, you've just got to box them out no matter what." — Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 26, 2020The Lakersnearly doubled the Mavericks in total rebounds (53-27) and dominated on the offensive glass (17-3). Maxi Kleberled Dallas with five rebounds. Los Angeles had six different players pull down at least six rebounds. The Mavericks were also out-reboundedin a season-opening loss to the Suns (48-39). These numbers are not ideal.Yes, Kristaps Porzingisis out as he works his way back from a knee injury, but this is an issue that won't be fixed by the return of one player.The new guys are making an impact for ClippersPaul George and Kawhi Leonard will understandably receive most of the attention when the Clippers are on national TV, but let's give the supporting cast a little credit.Nicolas Batum(13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists), Serge Ibaka(15 points on 6-of-9 shooting)and Luke Kennard(eight points, six rebounds, two assists) each contributed to LA's Christmas Day win over Denver. The Clippers likely anticipated Ibaka and Kennardcontributing throughout the season, but Batum'searly emergence has been a nice surprise.Clippers coach Tyronn Lue is excitedabout the versatility the 32-year-old offers on both ends. "I'm very impressed. He just knows how to play the game," Luesaid of Batum earlier this week. "Very smart, very cerebral, understanding what's going on. ... And he's one of our best passers. So we can play him at the elbows. We can put him in pick-and-rolls. And then with his length and size, being 6-9, we can switch one through four."No one will care much about how the Clippers perform in December. That's just the wayit works in the NBA when a team has championship expectations — and when a team blew a 3-1 lead in embarrassing fashion.With that said, the Clippers must be happy with how their offseason acquisitions have meshed with the rest of the group.
Mega Millions ticket worth $1M purchased at Roscoe Village 7-Eleven
This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 24%. (I'm a bot)
CHICAGO - Someone purchased a Mega-Millions ticket worth a cool $1 million at a 7-Eleven store in Chicago's Roscoe Village neighborhood on Tuesday. "What makes me happy, and my favorite part of selling Illinois Lottery tickets, is that these lottery wins give someone else a chance to live a better life and help make their dreams come true. I tell my customers if you win, I win," Patel said. "I plan to use this selling bonus as an opportunity to invest in my employees and customers. My employees will receive a bonus, especially the one who sold the winning ticket and I will throw a customer appreciation party - when guidelines allow. I want our customers to see how much we want to be a part of this community and thank them for supporting us, especially during this time of Covid." The Mega Millions Jackpot is now up to $750 million, the largest prize ever in Illinois if it's won. There is now an estimated $1.39 billion in jackpot prizes to be won across both Mega Millions and Powerball. This is only the second time in the history of these games that both jackpots have simultaneously rolled with jackpots over $600 million.
Summary Source | FAQ | Feedback | Topkeywords: million#1Jackpot#2customer#3win#4ticket#5 Post found in /news. NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.
Removed comments/submissions for /u/ComprehensiveEase759
Hi ComprehensiveEase759, you're not shadowbanned, but 69 of your most recent 100 comments/submissions were removed (either automatically or by human moderators).
Comments:
gjnc3wx posted in Veterans on 17JAN21:
" I think everyone gets denied the first time " I am P&T and was awarded SSDI within 60 days of applying online. Never even saw a doctor. Most people dont understand the requirements and credits you...
gjimtop posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
absolutely not. zero chance. They would never allow that and for good reason. You do get the chance to talk to a rater, in fact a high level rater, if you need to appeal in the form of Higher Level...
gjikief posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
36 months. 3 years are re-evals now. that is now standard.
gjikfqe posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
by telling the truth? ...i know, shocker. and advice you wont here from anyone else on this board.
gjikbvv posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
decided i didnt want to be a loser my entire life.
gji1cxr posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
you wont get an answer to this, I assure you.
gjhvvw0 posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
I told them that veterans have all gone through a contract process led by recruiters
this coming from someone who unironically wrote this
gjhuvn0 posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
yes.
gjhtq5j posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
Yes.
gjhtnj0 posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
" I was a POG mechanic " Huge amount of respect that you are able to admit that and accept that. 99% of other people on this board would stop and MARINE and have the reader pretend they were...
gjht8xc posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
That is not a plan, that is a process. Nowhere does it state actual details on distributing ANYTHING EVER. States are already onto ages 75 and older, VA has done nothing other than vaccination its...
gjhslrh posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
The fact you think there is something called a "veteran card" is actually laughable. there are 19 million vets, 7% of the population. Not exactly unique or special and 99.99% people could give a...
gjf2238 posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
you are one of those guys huh? Just do some pushups, everything will be better. Something tells me you have no clue what you are talking about or what he is dealing with. People like you only see...
gjf02ap posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
bad sign. just my opinion.
gjezys0 posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
This post is so full of contradictions and misunderstanding. The most your dad got for hearing was 10%. and its not possible to have a 65% rating, it would be 70% rounded up. The rest I didnt even...
gjezre8 posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
many many people have had it reduced. It's not a unique or unlikely scenario. I can almost guarantee just by virtue of the millions of claims that it happens every single day actually.
gjezb5s posted in Veterans on 16JAN21:
18 million veterans As of the end of 2018, there were approximately 18 million veterans in the United States, or 7.1% of the adult population.
gje0xp6 posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
800 vets. wow. Still waiting on details on the other 17.99 million. Go ahead, simply drop a link. It must be available, why would the "program" be secret?? Certainly they have announced this and...
gjdznik posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
lmfao.
gjdzlcv posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
According to your multiple attempts with the VA and several opportunities to provide evidence it didn't . But if you say so, you can believe whatever you like to.
gjdzbpz posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
Give me some examples please. ...waiting
gjdz61d posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
Anytime you would like the provide a shred of evidence for how/when/where this is happening and the roll out of a program that specifically allocated 18 million doses of vaccine for veterans I would...
gjdy4fa posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
You realize you are talking about one of the largest mortgage lenders in the entire country? Good luck with that. Unbelievable they would as this VETERAN for a down payment on the loan and not just...
gjdxqbe posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
" but REQUIRED A DEPOSIT " A DEPOSIT!! omg, who woulda thunkit. How dare they. Who do they think they are not just giving you 100% of a loan upfront without a deposit??!? ***" The documents...
gjdx6td posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
You realize that you can literally not be able to bend your knee a single degree and they can be "fucked up" and that has absolutely nothing at all to do with service connection and maybe everything...
gjdwzxk posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
" I’m already anxious about that future re-eval, especially after having negative experiences with examiners in the past. Is there anything I can do to for some peace of mind? " What do you mean?...
gjduzyt posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
No, you are the one actually spreading misinformation. If you think you are going to get the vaccine earlier because you are a "veteran", as if that means something when it comes to vaccines. Sorry,...
gjai74f posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
First person I have ever heard of being interested in working at the SSA. Pretty sure you can aim higher than that bud.
gjai1j3 posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
I love how everyone in the comments all of a sudden is Infantry, when 90% of you have no clue what the fuck this is about other than maybe waiting to fill out paperwork in bootcamp.
gjahiao posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
Pro-Tip. Might want to google that instead of asking on some random subreddit that has nothing to do with medicine.
gjahaii posted in Veterans on 15JAN21:
As a veteran, you are better off waiting like everyone else and getting it through your state because there is 0.0% chance they are going to let non at-risk "healthy"(yes that includes disability...
gj64rxu posted in Veterans on 13JAN21:
I find that VERY hard to believe. No VA doctor is going to write one when they are told not to.
gj64knm posted in Veterans on 13JAN21:
button does nothing, placebo.
gj64fy8 posted in Veterans on 13JAN21:
CongratS!!! NOw sit back and relax you are on easy street my man, like winning the lottery!!! haha
gj649nt posted in Veterans on 13JAN21:
I was revealed at the 36 month. I was told this is now standard, it is not 5 years like I was told on this subreddit.
gj0zbfq posted in Veterans on 12JAN21:
My man threw the kitchen sink at them.
gixuoog posted in Veterans on 11JAN21:
Ok. Keep us updated.
gixul4m posted in Veterans on 11JAN21:
Keyword being "try"
gip3tef posted in Veterans on 09JAN21:
No re-evals as of historical precedent. Things could easily change based on many factors. It is not a lock. It may have been a "lock" up until this point, but it is not covered by regulation the...
ginyyft posted in Veterans on 09JAN21:
Calling BS on this until I see official announcement from credible source.
ginvkot posted in Veterans on 09JAN21:
Or, to play devil's advocate, A veteran claimed something that they clearly did not have and the doctor(doing their job) called them out and they were denied. Said veteran, the fine upstanding...
ginuxcg posted in Veterans on 09JAN21:
This question, or a variation of this question is asked at least 5 times a day(not exaggerating), every single day. You will get two answers. First, the group that collects for MH and stopped...
gikaqe1 posted in Veterans on 08JAN21:
10 years of medical records? Do they align and is there a nexus for the origins of the disability when it started in service? cause if not, those are worthless. DBQ signed by my doctor. Your private...
gik9x02 posted in Veterans on 08JAN21:
You are so out of you depth, no wonder you got denied and are salty about it. "I figured all the other evidence was enough" there is zero chance you getting rated without a proper C&P. Sounds like...
gihz2df posted in Veterans on 08JAN21:
A VSO can't recreate your record in service to work with. The VSO is not going to sit next to you during your C&P. It's easy to cast blame but some people think a VSO is some sort of medical...
gihsn6f posted in Veterans on 08JAN21:
Correct.
gic97b6 posted in Veterans on 06JAN21:
You can apply for anything at any time. Whether it's a fully developed claim supported by in-service medical records is another matter. But nothing at all is stopping him from applying.
gic06gv posted in Veterans on 06JAN21:
He is looking for static and non static disabilities and that will not be found in either your decision letter or ebenefits.
gibtrdt posted in Veterans on 06JAN21:
I have no issues waving or nodding. But things are different in particular when you are dealing with the absolute most vulnerable population. Social distancing guidelines are very much a blanket set...
gibrvwo posted in Veterans on 06JAN21:
"So when you find yourself in the same atmosphere at your next visit say hello to at least three people" Do you understand that people aren't talking or being jovial based upon the scientific...
gi8w2ye posted in Veterans on 06JAN21:
I'm hesitant to give you instruction as I am unable to see your fully developed claim but if they are saying that what you have submitted is "irrelevant" then it either has no bearing in relation or...
gi8r92l posted in Veterans on 05JAN21:
The static stuff is static and wont recieve a C&P. Anything else will. It doesn't matter what it is. There are no special rules for one type of disability or another.
In our Whale Watching Cabo Tour you do it all in one day and save lots of Money at the same time. Your search for things to do in Los Cabos is over. This Whale Watching in Cabo Adventure includes it all, explore Cabo San Lucas, Shopping, Tequila Tasting, a visit to a Glass Blowing Factory, round trip transportation, bi-lingual guide, a Whale Watching in Cabo San Lucas on one of the most superb Catamarans in Cabo, Whale Watching Deluxe, Open Bar on the Catamaran, Breakfast, visit the world-famous Arch and Lands’ end with the Sea Lions colony. Incredible value for a very complete Adventure. If you are looking for a day of fun and adventure this is a great value tour. If you are looking for great value, Fantastic Whale Watching, making friends, dancing and having fun, exploring Cabo San Lucas, a great Lunch on board of the Boat and a national open Bar than this is Your best option in Los Cabos. Whale Watching in Cabo
Other ways to do Whale Watching in Los Cabos
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Catamaran Whale Watching Sunset (Click here for further Information) Whale Watching in Los Cabos on a Catamaran Sunset Whale Watching Cruise is very popular, open Bar, Dinner, Music, Dancing and Entertainment are part of a Catamaran Sunset Cruise in Los Cabos. The Tour starts leaving the Cabo San Lucas Marina with your favorite drink in hand getting very quickly to Pelicans Rock, Lovers Beach, the Arch and the Sea Lions Colony for fantastic Photos for your Social Media and memories to cherish for a long time. After 30 minutes at Lands’ End, you explore the Pacific side of Lands’ End with the Divorce Beach, while Whale Watching in this Tour is not the priority, during Whale Watching Season its almost inevitable and part of the Adventure. Take a look at Pedregal, home to many favorite Hollywood Stars. 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Whale Watching on Jet Skies in Los Cabos (Click here for further Information) For a “Hollywood” James Bond Vibe hop on a Wave Runner in Los Cabos, this guided 2-and-a-half-hour Adventure is super nice to explore Lands’ End, the Los Cabos Arch, the Sea Lions Colony, Lovers and Divorce Beach. Certainly, an adrenalin filled adventure that finishes off with a Hamburger and French Fries (Vegetarian Option available) in a beautiful Location. Known for its plentiful marine life, when jet skiing in Cabo San Lucas you might encounter some fauna on your way like tropical fish, turtles, dolphins and even Humpback whales in winter months! Take in the turquoise waters of the Sea of Cortés and make memories to last a lifetime. Whale Watching in Cabo Is Whale Watching Safe in Los Cabos? Yes, Whale Watching is a safe activity, to suffer an accident during a Whale Watching Tour is less possible than winning the Lottery. What or When is Whale Watching Season in Los Cabos? Whale Watching Season officially starts December 15th and finishes April 15th every year. Whales are spotted before and after that date, but to almost guarantee whale watching the dates and permits are set when the most whales are in Los Cabos. How to go Whale Watching in Los Cabos? You can go Whale Watching on a Catamaran, Sailing Boat, Glass Bottom Boat, Water taxi, Fishing Boat, a Zodiac or even a Wave Runner. It all depends on how comfortable, if you prefer or not a Bathroom and if you enjoy a cold Beer or Margarita or nothing for your whale watching. In general, the less the Tour costs the lesser is the quality and level of comfort and service. Whale Watching near me? Whale Watching in Los Cabos is accessible for all visitors of Los Cabos, San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. Most Whale Watching Tours depart from the port in Cabo San Lucas to also look at the Los Cabos Arch, the Main Attraction, and take a quick photo there prior to Whale Watching. What to wear during Whale Watching? All Whale watching Tours suggest a sweater or light jacket during your Tour, in the early morning hours and late afternoons with the sea breeze it can feel fresh to cold. Once the sun hits the Boat you probably have to take it off. How much Whale Watching cost in Los Cabos? It ranges from 60 usd per person on a simple boat without bathroom and inclusions to up to 5,000 usd on a Private Luxury yacht with private chef. It all depends on what you are looking for, how comfortable you like to be, what quality and level of service you have in mind. Whale Watching in Cabo What will you see?
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. It is one of the larger rorqual species, with adults ranging in length from 12–16 m (39–52 ft) and weighing around 25–30 metric tons (28–33 short tons). The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with long pectoral fins and a knobby head. It is known for breaching and other distinctive surface behaviors, that is why it is so popular with whale watchers. Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time. All the males in a group will produce the same song, which is different each season. Its purpose is not clear, though it may help induce estrus in females. Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 km (16,000 mi) each year. They feed in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth, fasting and living off their fat reserves. Their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish. Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net technique. Like other large whales, the humpback was a target for the whaling industry. The species was once hunted to the brink of extinction; its population fell by an estimated 90% before a 1966 moratorium. While stocks have partially recovered to some 80,000 animals worldwide, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships and noise pollution continue to affect the species.
Gray Whale
The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), also known as the grey whale, gray back whale, Pacific gray whale, or California gray whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of 14.9 meters (49 ft), a weight of up to 41 tons (90,000 lb) and lives between 55 and 70 years, although one female was estimated to be 75-80 years of age. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Gray whales were once called devil fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The gray whale is the sole living species in the genus Eschrichtius, which in turn is the sole living genus in the family Eschrichtiidae. This mammal is descended from filter-feeding whales that appeared at the beginning of the Oligocene, over 30 million years ago. The gray whale is distributed in an eastern North Pacific (North American), and an endangered western North Pacific (Asian), population. North Atlantic populations were extirpated (perhaps by whaling) on the European coast before AD 500, and on the American coast around the late 17th to early 18th centuries. Even so, on May 8, 2010, a sighting of a gray whale was confirmed off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean Sea, leading some scientists to think they might be repopulating old breeding grounds that have not been visited for centuries. In May and June 2013, a gray whale was sighted off the coast of Namibia – the first confirmed in the Southern Hemisphere. The round-trip journey of one gray whale has set a new record for the longest mammal migration, covering a distance of more than 22,000 kilometers across the Pacific Ocean. Her migration has shown new insight into how endangered species are making drastic changes in their life style.
Orca
Even though fewer common sightings are reported every year during Whale Season in Los Cabos. The killer whale or orca (Orcinus orca) is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. Killer whales have a diverse diet, although individual populations often specialize in particular types of prey. Some feed exclusively on fish, while others hunt marine mammals such as seals and other species of dolphin. They have been known to attack baleen whale calves, and even adult whales. Killer whales are apex predators, as no animal preys on them. A cosmopolitan species, they can be found in each of the world's oceans in a variety of marine environments, from Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas, absent only from the Baltic and Black seas, and some areas of the Arctic Ocean. Killer whales are highly social; some populations are composed of matrilineal family groups (pods) which are the most stable of any animal species. Their sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviors, which are often specific to a particular group and passed across generations, have been described as manifestations of animal culture. The International Union for Conservation of Nature assesses the orca's conservation status as data deficient because of the likelihood that two or more killer whale types are separate species. Some local populations are considered threatened or endangered due to prey depletion, habitat loss, pollution (by PCBs), capture for marine mammal parks, and conflicts with human fisheries. In late 2005, the southern resident killer whales, which swim in British Columbia and Washington state waters, were placed on the U.S. Endangered Species list. Wild killer whales are not considered a threat to humans and no fatal attack on humans has ever been documented, but there have been cases of captive orcas killing or injuring their handlers at marine theme parks. Killer whales feature strongly in the mythologies of indigenous cultures, and their reputation in different cultures ranges from being the souls of humans to merciless killers.
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