Hey guys, looking to change my spark plugs. Everyone recommends NGKs, but my auto part store has a bunch of NGKs so I am unsure which one to chose for a fbo non tune bk1 2.0.
The workers say non of the NGKs would work for my car. Maybe one of you can help me out.
Selection of NGKs at the part store

Troubleshooting Help:

The monitor is an ASUS TUF VG27AQ
Describe your problem. List any error messages and symptoms. Be descriptive.
The monitor randomly gets like a brightness of 0.00001%, white/bright stuff are barely visible while every other stuff, even the OSD isn't because it's too dark. The other features do work though. So if I set my sound output device as this monitor, the sound will come out of it. Windows also detects the monitor and allows me to change its refresh rate etc while it remains almost pitch black. The monitor will randomly fix itself after like 30 minutes or so and then work for some hours, but the issue persists which makes it unusable as a main monitor.
Turning it off and back on doesn't do anything. The Asus logo shows up which is barely visible due to the same issue.
List anything you've done in attempt to diagnose or fix the problem.
Tried it with different devices (a laptop, steam deck, my pc), a different hdmi cable, display port cable etc.
Provide any additional details you wish below.
This issue started after having its panel repaired/replaced by the shop where I bought it from for an issue with white bright backlight shining through light pixels which looked odd. I sent it back for repair for this specific issue, but something went wrong which made them send the monitor back to me without an answer why. The monitor wasn't even physically damaged by me in any form or way, it's just odd.
I gotta wait a few days to receive an answer back from them according to their customer report. This is also a plastic piece that showed up in the box after I received it back from the first repair which makes it seem like they damaged it while repairing.
So I'm kind of wondering if anyone knows what's wrong with it and knows whether it could be easily fixed, because I'm really tired of dealing with the customer support of this store.

A few people have asked me for this, so here goes…
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Summary of main points:
About two years have passed at the start since the end of the previous one.
Ryūto is studying literature at the college he wanted and has a part-time job teaching English
He barely gets to see Runa due to her having a full-time job at a clothing store and having to take care of her new twin siblings.
He hasn’t seen his friends from school in a while and has a new friend in college who’s a mega autist (lol) and talks in classic Japanese all the time.
Maria offers him a new part-time job at the place she works for as an assistant editor. They become friends again after all that time and she’s become a bit of a drunkard. She begs him to introduce her to people she can date; he tries his new friend, but it goes terribly and he doesn’t have any more friends, so nothing else comes out of it.
He spots Akari by accident doing compensated dating (sugar daddy kinda thing, but no sex), so he asks to meet some days later and they kinda talk about it. She said being a stylist was not as glamorous as she thought it’d be and she didn’t like her salary at a coffee shop, so she now charges for dates and shit to earn some money.
He goes out for a drive with Runa, Nikoru, and Ren Nishina (whom still likes Nikoru, BTW), and he then learns that Runa was offered a position in a different prefecture.
Yūsuke Ijichi meets up with one of his fans from Twitter and wants to start dating her. Ryūto informs Akari of this, who shows up at the place to get between him and the fan’s boyfriend and finally tells him how she feels about him. He then gets a boner while she’s on top of him (lol), she kisses him, and they walk away holding hands; that’s the last we see of ‘em.
Nikoru’s boyfriend (whom Ryūto still hangs out with from time to time) finally gets accepted into medical school, but he has to move away, so they go on a double date with Ryūto and Runa a couple of days before he has to leave. After Ryūto and Runa are left alone in what is very obviously Disneyland, he gets her a glass shoe (obvious Cinderella reference) and tells her he wants to marry her once out of college. She says she’d been wondering when he’d tell her (since Maria’d kinda let it slip, apparently, and also, they’d been sorta thinking and talking about it since at least volume 2), but obviously, yes.
So… they gather to see Nikoru’s boyfriend off, who at the last minute asks her to go with him, but she tells him she can’t. They then go drink to a bar (there’s lots of drinking throughout the whole thing); Runa passes out; and Ryūto ends up comforting Nikoru, in what was actually a rather touching scene with lots of crying and shit. They then reaffirm each other’s friendship for the first time, and Nikoru decides to break up with her boyfriend, since she doesn’t think she can do the whole long-distance thing for 8 years, and so she decides to start dating Ren instead.
Finally, it’s Ryūto’s birthday once more, and Runa goes all out to celebrate it. They go to see an anime movie and she pays for the fucking platinum experience or whatever, so they get a private room and then a balcony view of the movie and shit. She tells him she ended up deciding against moving away for work, as she now wants to study to work at a nursery school, since looking after her new siblings made her realize how much she loves kids and all that. BTW, they still haven’t fucking had sex, for whatever reason, so they also talk a bit about that after the movie, and Runa offers to go on a trip during Summer vacation, during which they could finally do it and shit.
At the end of it, he is talking to his college friend, and he finally confesses to him that he is still a virgin, but just as he tells him that explaining why is gonna be a long story, the whole thing just fucking ends 🥲. Guess we’re gonna have to wait till volume 7 (already confirmed) to find out what actually happened two years ago when they were planning to have sex? He mentioned in his thoughts at some point that they just missed their timing or some shit, but we don’t get any more details than that, so no idea…
​
Personal opinion:
Not the worst thing ever, I guess, but rather underwhelming for me, TBH… It was all going pretty damn well, IMO, till last volume; but this took quite a turn and, furthermore, most of the novel seems to focus on side stories and characters, anyway. Ratings on Amazon seem to be lower than before, too, FWIW. The author called it a surprise, but not a very pleasant one, all around. Oh, well… Hope the next one’s better somehow, but we’ll see.

I have a credit card to a retail store, I’ve had the account for many years. I haven’t used the card in over a year. I got an email the other day saying thanks for your purchase for a $50 gift card (for the same retail store). At first I thought maybe it was just phishing. Then, got another email shortly after that said your order has been cancelled. Then right after that got another that said thanks for your purchase for a $25 gift card.
I meant to look into it further but completely forgot about it, until I received a physical $25 gift card in the mail. I checked my account, and sure enough, there is a $25 charge on my credit card. The thing is, it was mailed to me. This is what makes no sense. And there’s a printed message on the gift card envelope that says “To: Jay, From: Love, Message: Bay”.
No clue what any of that means, or who Jay is. I called my credit card company and reported the fraud, and they cancelled the card and reissued another, and credited me back the $25. They didn’t tell me what to do with the gift card though, and they had no explanation or any insight to some type of scam other than just hacking into my account. I’ve reset my password and trying to cover my bases, but is this some sort of weird scam that I need to be careful of? Has anyone seen this before? Do you think they sent the gift card to my address by accident and meant to send it to theirs? TIA!

Been running my video editing PC for nearly six years, and it's becoming an absolute chore for work. Editing is slow and rendering makes the PC almost unusable these days (wasn't the case when I initially bought it). It freezes up infrequently and as soon as I'm applying a few overlays and graphics in Premiere things start going south. Ideally I would like to upgrade parts as opposed to fully replacing everything, but I am unsure of how realistic this is.
​
My current setup is:
CPU: Intel i7 7700K - (4 x 4.5 GHZ) - Kaby Lake - OVERCLOCKED UPTO 4.8 GHZ
RAM: Corsair 16GB Vengeance LPX 3000MHz (2x8GB) DDR4
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti - 4 GB - (PCI-E) - DVI/DP/HDMI - HD/4K
MB: Asus PRIME B250M-K (Intel B250) - 4xUSB 3.0/2xUSB 2.0
SSD: 480GB SSD SATA-III, Read 550MB/s, Write 500MB/s - Silent
HDD: 1 TB Seagate (1000 GB) SATA-III HDD 7200 RPM 64MB Cache
​
My CPU is regularly hitting 100%, and my RAM suffers somewhat too. GPU doesn't seem to come under a tonne of pressure, but I assume that needs looking into as well? My motherboard is allegedly running at a temperature of 120c, according to Speccy. I edit with Premiere primarily, and my edits often require a degree of heavy colour grading and animation/After Effects involvement.
So where do I go from here? My ideal budget is around £600 for upgrades, but frankly at this point I just need things to be fixed and will do what I need to get there.
Please hit me with your recommendations!
Many thanks.

The Burning Ones first previous next
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The white faded to black and the black faded to something else. The darkness was pushed away, and something, shapeless, formless, but brilliant, was at my side. I tried to grasp what I was seeing; still I could not. The shapeless light swirled and pulsed like a heartbeat, and beyond I saw a swarm of tiny sparks, each one, glowing, more brilliantly than a supernova, yet none outshone the other.
Slowly, the light beside me congealed into a solid form. It was Shadow. He stood beside me, and to his left I could see another light. It pulsed and flickered, all the colors in the rainbow sparkled through until the lights turned into an arc of red embers, tiny streaks of flaming, ginger curls.
The streaks of light swirled and popped, and from them, the form of my friend Alison appeared. She smiled gently. Only her face and her hand were visible as she waved, two fingers outstretched, comically mimicking her favorite Jedi’s motions, and then the rest of her body appeared beside Shadow’s.
Shadow copied her motion. His muscled arm lifted into the air, two fingers outstretched as he ordered the multitude of lights surrounding us into place. I watched, awestruck, as each spark exploded and became a full, unique, beautiful, human facsimile.
“What is this place?” I asked, as Shadow looked down at his hand in wonder. “Do you know these humans?”
“I do,” There was a joy in Shadow's voice I had never heard before. He walked forwards eagerly, dashing from one face, to the next, inspecting each one with excitement and vigor. “I never… I never thought…”
Each human form in the void smiled as Shadow approached. I saw them beaming with happiness. In the instant, as their eyes locked on Shadow, I felt something, something indescribable. It was gratitude and happiness.
“You never thought you would see them again,” I said, and I walked to Shadow’s side. Here, in this spectral realm, he looked more human than ever. I realized, as I observed my companion and the humans he had once shepherded, that in every detail of Shadow’s visage, there was a piece of them. There was now a tiny freckle beside his nose, just like the one Alison had.
Shadow reached out and attempted to touch the strange looking human in front of him. His brow was heavy, his nose large, and his skin rough and weathered. His eyes clearly held the intelligence of human kind, but he did not look quite like the humans I knew.
“I was never remarkable,” Shadow admitted, his hand shimmered as he touched the human before him, “but I believe this is the Dimension of Windows.”
“The Dimension of Windows?” I asked. Beneath Shadow’s touch, the ancient man dissolved into a grey mist which swirled and drifted towards us.
“It is the only word I know,” Shadow stepped forward, into the mists and all the other lights faded, “but I am beginning… to remember.”
I felt the plane where we had stood fading away, and I was pulled back into union with Shadow. The mists swallowed us, and the phantom world we stood in dissolved and made way for a new scene.
​
I did not understand them.
Still, I did my duty. I watched. I protected.
The humans huddled around their small fire, whispering to each other as the night crept in. My brethren and I stood, wings outstretched, doing what little we could to reflect the heat of the fire back on those we had chosen to protect. My human, the maker of spears, told his tale. He had seen it creeping through the camp late at night. It would not come near, for I stood watch and this cloud was small, but it would not leave. The Dark was determined and ever sought to snuff out life. It was not long before other humans noticed the Dark. Some saw it directly, others saw only its effects.
The Dark had killed the animals who strayed from the herd. It had smothered the life-giving vegetations being crudely cultivated. The beloved canines of the tribe left to walk the edges of the camp at night, and many did not return. Before the fall, we found that most sentient life in the universe was incapable of seeing the Darkness, but the humans had seen the impossible, and despite their fear, despite their superstitions, despite their ignorance, they were planning.
I thought them foolish at first. They adorned their bodies with colorful pigments of the earth; they placed flowers in their hair. They fashioned jewelry from vibrant stones and animal bones. Endearing, but simple. The spoke loudly, telling their hunting stories to the fires and the children. The wind carried their songs to the ends of the earth. Together, the Dark and The Burning Ones watched as mankind lived. They lived on despite the danger. They rejoiced despite their fear, and the Dark, that which abhors life, took notice and it was slowed.
At night, as the humans danced around their fires and the stars shone down on them, I began to join them. As the cold winds blew and the trees swayed in the winds, I swayed with them. I believe, the ancient humans did something we never could. They stood before the Dark without fear. The Dark was not the first to attempt to take their lives. It would not be the last. Of course they feared death and danger. They were mortal. Despite this, they did not stand afraid to live.
As we danced with the humans. As we listened to their songs. As we held their hands, our bodies began to change. Over the years, across the generations of humans, the forms of my brethren and I changed to match those we were tied to.
I watched as the Maker of Spears chipped his last rock, climbed his last hill, and said goodbye to his kin for the last time. I watched his life-spark fade, and then I was taken back into the void.
​
Shadow and I returned to the Dimension of Windows. As soon as the plane materialized around us, Shadow rushed out into the crowd of faces. I could tell he was looking for someone. As he ran, I saw that there were many faces he did not wish to pass up and his eyes lingered upon them longingly.
“Where is she!” Shadow cried out and redoubled his pace.
“Who?” I asked, and ran along behind him. With each human face I saw, I caught snatches of memory from Shadow’s life. I realized, the light around us was fading, we were heading back. “Who are we looking for?”
“I don’t know where she…” Shadow stumbled and fell to his knees, the light around us faded to grey, the physical solids to mists, “I can’t remember… my fair…”
​
​
The real world assaulted my senses like a hundred decibels and a ton of bricks. The ship was spiraling. The lights were flashing. V’ee was howling gleefully in the cockpit. Taika was holding me steady with one arm, and bracing us against the ship’s walls with his other limbs.
“Luna Vanguard, STAND DOWN! STAND DOWN!” Marc was shouting. “There are humans on-board! CEASE FIRE! REPEAT, this is Commander Marc Tarrow of the Rapid Assault and Recovery Force One-Seven escorting an asset to UN Command. Do not fire. REPEAT! DO NOT FIRE!”
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previous next
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author page ~ table of contents
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Author’s Note:
Hello friends, hopefully you are all still here with me in the Lovely Horror Show. I recently had to step away from my keyboard in order to deal with a family emergency when my uncle fell very ill. My brief trip to assist my aunt turned into two complicated months renovating her home to be handicap accessible and taking care of people. Rest assured, I have not abandoned these stories, and should be returning to publishing more frequently now that I have returned home. I thought of you all often, and I have missed seeing both the familiar and the new names in the comments after I post.

I've only been on the job since November, but I've quickly become arguably the best CCA in my office. Learned 10+ routes that I can finish in 8 or often faster, plenty of regulars love me, but the issue is that I constantly get stuck with shit gruntwork because I'm usually back to the office by 3:30-4 and we have 2 regulars who are about 2+ hours daily NO MATTER WHAT (1 is old and refuses to quit, the other purposefully shits around). We also have two regulars on retirement's door who do not carry a single package that will not fit in a mailbox that also happen to have the 2 heaviest package routes in the office.
I hate constantly being on the hook for at least one of these shitty side quests, but what do veterans recommend for slowing down? The work is genuinely fucking easy on 90% of my town's routes, so should I take more pit stops at stores? Take an extra minute at every stop for water? Finger the mail a little more sensually? We've got a power-trippy 204b recently and she adores catching people killing time or not following every policy to the letter, so I'm feeling deterred from taking it easy, and appreciate any tips
The only upside is I seem to get better days off despite not being top CCA in the office, which O think is a consequence of my work, but I'd much rather not do 10-11 hour shifts every single time I work over more ideal weekdays

And even if I provide it to them, it says that the informations are wrong.
Is it possible to still download demos and free games on Ps3 or the only thing you can do is to buy games through gift cards?

So at my university, all of the good apartments are downtown and/or by the sorority and fraternity housing area. So you know what that means... there are tons of incredibly attractive students walking around over there and it makes me feel horrible. I briefly lived over there for a couple months one summer and although I loved being within walking distance to many stores and being in a nice area, I had a mental breakdown and cried nearly everyday when seeing all the good looking people over there. And they're usually all partying and hanging out with their friends. The girls all dress very sexily and wear things I could never even dream of wearing. And the guys all go around showing their nice bodies. I live in a very hot area, so it's very easy for people to show of their nice physiques here. And seeing all the couples and all the hot people having fun and living their lives just made me feel like shit. I can't imagine living there for several years while I do my PhD.
But the part of the city I currently live in has the worst apartments!! They have bugs, aren't well maintained, extremely old, and tend to have higher rates of crime. But the traffic isn't as bad and things are more spread out. Also, there are more poc (I feel a bit better around ppl who look more like me) who live in this area and ppl who are more average looking, which helps me feel a lot better. Normally I'm able to avoid all the attractive people by hiding in the library all day, but if I live where they live, I'm literally going to be surrounded by them. What do I do?? I honestly can't afford to have mental breakdowns everyday from seeing these cute attractive couples and groups of people having fun and rubbing it in my face that I'm an ugly loser with no life or friends.
How do you guys cope with seeing them?

I got the headset about 2 1/2 months ago but did not use it too much and let it first air out because it gave me bad skin reactions both on my face and my scalp (despite having pretty thick hair, I have a mast cell disease, so that's sadly hardly unxexpected for me). It's better now but the issue remains so I got the silicone cover for the casket (works fine) but have still no solution what to do about the foam in the rear.
Though the silicone ends up "taking my normal glasses off" (bad myopia) so I'll now also have to get prescription lenses for my headset as well. I was wondering if anyone knew of any replacement, cover or anything I could use for the rear foam for headband short of covering it with a cloth or buying something like the bobovr m2 (though I'd guess this is has parts that might be treated with stuff like that, though pleather or rubber is nearly always fine for me) It should also be of note that I most likely do not react to the foam itself but to that chemical it smells of when unboxing it that has that typical nasty "new clothes" smell before machine washing them, which is also not great for me with skin contact.

Hi, I'm here looking for a partner to do one of these roles! These are roles with my partner playing a male, protecter type role. If you're more interested in playing a role where we are more equals, unfortunately, these are not for you. Perhaps another time, when I'm in the mood for a different type, but for now, these are kind of what I'm interested in. Now, this is lengthy, so please bear with me!
A little about me first, then what I'm looking for, and finally, the roles.
For now, you can call me Shortie and I'm 24. I've been roleplaying for around 10 years off and on, and I consider myself to be semi-literate to literate. Of course, I make mistakes with grammar, spelling, and whatnot like any other person, but I always do my best. Lately, I've found myself writing in third person, past tense, but I'm flexible. I like to write at least one paragraph per response, but it can change from response to response. I'll always try to at least write more than one sentence. I'll always try to respond at least once a day or let you know in advance.
I'm looking for a partner who will play a male character. All partners must be at least 24 years old and preferably no older than 28. I'd like my partner to be at least semi-literate and write at least a paragraph per response, though it can fluctuate over time. I also understand mistakes happen, so I'll try not to be too picky. I, at least, ask that you write similar to how I'm writing here. Proper capitalization and punctuation are a minimum for me. I'd prefer third person, but not required. Lastly, I ask that you respond at least once a day or let me know what's going on. Life comes first for both of us, so I'm just asking for mutual understanding there.
Okay! Now, onto my roles! Feel free to shoot me a direct chat or private message if you find one you want to talk about more. I'll be using my nickname as a placeholder until we come up with characters.
1) The Pyre
Shortie had a hard time making ends meet after college. Her parents passed just after high school, and the insurance policies went to tuition payments. She managed to graduate with her degree, but she's had a hard time finding a well-paying job she could use her English degree for. So, she started waitressing for a club near where she lived so she could walk to and from home. It was named The Pyre. She didn't know, however, that the club was owned by a well-known member of the mafia, you.
2) The Fallen
Every person has a guardian angel. An angel assigned at birth to make sure the soul lives their life until it was to meet its end. Most angels did well, ensuring that the soul did not die before its time. They couldn't interfere with anything else, no matter how traumatic to the soul. You are a guardian angel. You're tasked with watching over Shortie. Her time was coming to an end, when you decided enough was enough. You interfered, and then you fell.
3) The Deadline
Shortie was a young woman in your general education class in college. She was always silent in class, barely made it on time, and left as soon as possible. One day, she didn't show, and you seemed to be the only one to notice. You found out she had committed suicide, and you decided, out of guilt, the goodness of your heart, or perhaps something else, to go to her memorial. And there... you'll meet Death himself.
4) The Falls
Shortie recently moved away from the city and to a small town called Moonlight Falls, named for the beautiful waterfalls near the town that are most striking on the full moon. She finally got away from the big city and back to nature. She was a writer, primarily a copywriter, but she liked to write fiction as well. One night, she decided to go to the waterfalls, and there... she met you.
5) The Prince
Shortie lived in Lythos, a kingdom known for its libraries, its unquenchable desire for knowledge. While knowledge was important, it wasn't enough to protect the kingdom. Shortie was the youngest princess to the king and queen, and she was betrothed to the prince of a neighboring kingdom, Hykar, known for their fierce armies, navies, soldiers, and the warrior prince, the heir. She and the prince hadn't met until now. You have come home from a battle, and she is waiting with his family.
That's them! Let me know. And thanks for reading my long post, I know it's a lot!

Sorry if this is kind of random and incoherent, but I had a realization, so I figured why not post about it. It’s a positive thing so I hope it’s relatable to others here. Near the end there’s some mention of how I experienced religious trauma, so TW if you’re not in a good place right now.
Today I was just chilling at home and I watched a YouTube video of Mickey Atkins (who’s a therapist and uploads about mental health) reacting to another video of Girl Defined spewing their typical, toxic tradwife nonsense. And if you’re lucky enough to have never heard of GD, “toxic” is really an understatement, all these fundie chicks talk about is how you shouldn’t have your own identity but instead give yourself up to God, how self-compassion is selfish, sexuality is shameful, etc. I think Mickey has been an atheist all her life, but her horrified expressions and detailed professional criticisms of the doctrines really said it all. She doesn’t just cover religion, I recommend checking her channel out.
I’ve renounced my faith for about six months now (yay) and I’m honestly in a good place. No one’s ever going to be perfect, but it’s the happiest I’ve been in a while, and I’d say I’m done with actively deconstructing Christianity. Am I going to have new experiences and continue passively deconstructing it? I’m sure I will. But the point is, I’m now focused on what’s next for me. So I didn’t watch this video for the purpose of deconstruction, but a curiosity of how a therapist breaks things down because I’m interested in maybe becoming a therapist too. I loved what Mickey had to say, but I think it hit a little too close to home, having to hear the brainwashed fundies robotically repeat these harmful messages that used to plague my mind. I couldn’t stand them presenting it innocently like “oh this is just my opinion!” and not mentioning all the emotional manipulation it entails, or how children are indoctrinated into this being objective truth.
Nothing wrong with Mickey’s video btw, I love that her insights could benefit some people, but the source content bothered me. GD was insufferable and just reminded me of my life’s lowest point, so I only got halfway through the video. I turned it off.
Then it hit me, I turned it off. I can do that now.
I can turn it off, and that’s a huge improvement from last summer, where such a thing would send me into an anxious obsessive spiral, to the point I couldn’t sleep sometimes, where I’d be crying on the drive to work, back when my mind took these things way too seriously. With the ever looming threat of eternal fire, I’d panic to do the mental gymnastics and rationalize that the Bible doesn’t contain the horrible ideas that it does. I’d find my own sense of peace, and then work backwards to find verses and make the religion fit. This wasn’t done maliciously or even consciously half the time, and I think every religious person does it to some degree. But when I (often) wasn’t successful at it, I’d have to assume that “God” is perfect, therefore I’m the problem. I wasn’t “allowed” to be mad at God which only made things worse. I constantly felt broken and that I was wrong for wanting to be myself, to be happy, and approach my life practically rather than by black and white definitions in an ancient book. The distress was internal and paralyzing. I couldn’t control my own thoughts.
How I came to be an atheist is a complicated matter that could be it’s own post. I’ll spare you the transition period, but where I am now is like night and day difference.
Now, when I become distressed by religion, I recognize that it’s external. I can simply turn it off, and almost immediately feel fine again. I can just go about my day like anyone else. When Mickey started laughing at them, saying “Wow you simp for an imaginary man”, I truly felt that. That’s really what it is when you remove the fear tactics. It’s just not relevant to me anymore, it’s no longer my life. My current life, my authentic, science-backed, emotionally stable worldview is wide, and sees Christianity the same way I’ve always seen other religions, just as a bizarre cultural phenomenon. A sad example of the many folleys of the human mind.
When I say I laughed, I mean I laughed at the absurdity of Christianity, not so much at the women themselves. If anything, I pity them. That may sound condescending, but I truly mean it. It’s heartbreaking to look back and see people waste the one life they have trapped in this ideology. You don’t see how miserable you were until you make it over the fence. Maybe I’m just projecting my own experience, but I don’t believe that any extremist Christian, deep down, is happy. They’re just gaslighted into thinking that they’re “supposed” to be, but it’s only thinly veiled smugness. It’s a vicious cycle of people turning back to religion for “solutions” to problems they don’t realize were created by religion in the first place. Like when they talked about “worldly desires” not filling the void like Jesus does, do they realize that most people don’t think they deserve to burn for existing as a human? That void is self inflicted, and knowing how much religion harps on “you don’t believe hard enough”, I doubt it’s actually filled as much as they claim it is. It’s a lot of exhausting mental and emotional work, it’s a whole lot of lying to yourself.
I know it’s easy to hate on these people, maybe I’m too kind. But I’ve been there before. Not THAT bad, but still. Not justifying it at all, but any fundie who hurts others with their faith is surely hurting themselves. I wish I could help, but you can’t make a horse drink. I see these people now, and even though we all have flaws, I feel a mixture of luck and relief when I sincerely think to myself, “God damn, I’m just so glad I’m not you.”
Thanks to anyone who read all this, I didn’t intend for it to be so long. Best of luck on your individual healing journey.
TL;DR: I watched a video of a therapist criticizing Christian fundies, found it a bit triggering so I turned it off. I then reflected on how dogma doesn’t control my mind like it used to, and just ramble on about how religion harms people.
This post isn’t about the video itself but I’ll link it if anyone asks. :)
Thanks

June 1508 Hartenfels Castle
Friedrich stood just outside the grand double doors of the inner keep of the castle which johann just behind, leaning on the wall as the carriage slowly rumbled across the drawbridge and into the courtyard. Out stepped a small man with very fair hair and a friendly, fine, slightly blushing face of 24 years, from Spalt near Nuremberg.
"Is that the tutor you requested Fred?"
"Its seems it is Johann"
Friedrich wasn't worried. This man had been recommended to him by Konrad Mutian, the influential humanist and even then, he'd have Pfeffinger interview the lad. The man, dressed in his simple, priestly clothes, walked up to the Elector and prince.
"My Lords, I thank you for this opportunity to serve"
"It is a pleasure to have you master Burkhardt. I have high hopes for you"
"Please, my honourable Elector, call me Spalatin"
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Meta: Spalatin arrives at the Electoral court, expect more Spalatin posts in the future

Apologies in advance for rambling, I’m not the best writer.
My local pet supply store is home to 4 cats (3 males and 1 female). All the cats belong to the owner of the store and his son who pride themselves on being cat lovers and refuse to adopt out any of the cats. I know this because I asked if the female was up for adoption because she’s extremely sweet and loves to be carried around the store and just has a zest for life. He was adamant about keeping the cat because he loves her and she was surrendered to him by a family that couldn’t care for her. Overall, the cats seem happy. They love people, and they seem relaxed and healthy. Ive always thought they would be happier living in a home rather than a stuffy cluttered store with no windows, but at least they are being cared for. I do have concerns about hygiene, like I always see one of their litter boxes is filthy and is right next to their food bowls and attracts flies. There used to be really sad looking birds in cages for sale but I think they’ve improved conditions a bit since last year. Now, my dilemma. I found out from my partner that their female cat is pregnant, meaning she and at least one other male in the store haven’t been fixed. Actually, I’d bet that none of them are fixed. This makes me furious. The thought of a young healthy happy female cat having to live with three intact male cats this whole time especially after hours with no one there to supervise. If I had known I would have said something. Now she’s going to give birth to a litter of kittens that will need to find decent homes in a city with so many homeless cats. This is driving me up the wall! He could have just gotten her spayed.
I wanted to get advice as to whether I should confront him about the situation and ask that he get the cat spayed after she gives birth. This obviously goes for the kittens as well…. He’s kind of old fashioned and proud seeming and I’m just worried that he would freak out and kick me out of the store for questioning him. Another concern I have is that he is able to care for the newborn kittens. The store is a big mess, ie the dirty litter box (I really hope there is more than one for 4+ cats). What would you suggest I do in this situation? I don’t want to “rat him out,”because I do believe he cares about his animals, but I’m quite conflict averse and this seems like a big undertaking… I still really care about these cats and want to advocate for them. thank you for taking the time to read.

Based in England, UK.
On the 14th December 2022, I put down a £200 deposit on a £1,995 1993 MK5b ford escort 1.6i 16v LX with the seller, an LTD (limited) trader (not private), 17 days later, on the 31st December 2022, i paid the full price for the vehicle £1,795. I barely used the car in the 3 months and 25 days i have owned it, and i do not use it for work commute.
The advert on Autotrader for the car does not state anything wrong with the car, it only states:
"Lovely and increasingly rare Escort MK5b 1.6i 16v LX 5dr... Outstanding history file with comprehensive documentation back to original order form."
the car had 101,720 miles on it, i put 166 miles on it after purchase on the 31st December, 101,886 miles.

The story:

When i went to look at the car which is the same day i put a deposit down, i did not inspect the car (my mistake), the paintwork of the car was exceptional, but i did not notice anything obvious just glancing at the car. I asked the seller if it starts up, he tried to start it, nothing, then he got an old used diesel battery, put it in the car, didn't start, so he got 4 more diesel batteries, hooked them up via jump leads to the just replaced diesel battery in the car, tried to start it, it started BUT i noticed smoke coming out of the battery terminals and told him "why is there smoke coming out of the battery terminals" to which he brushed off and said "It'll be fine".
After putting the deposit down after him attempting to start the car, he said he'd get an MOT and service done on it within a few days before i purchase the car in full (1.7k). When i picked up and paid the 1.7k for the car on 31st December, he handed us the service history, both keys and the relevant 90s ford service/radio guide books. I go to drive the car, not even a 30 second walk from his garage place of business, the car stalls. I walk back to him as car will not start, he comes out and jumps the car and offers to drive me back home in the purchased car with his son following behind us with his son in the sons own car, i agree. As we drive back i ask why he's revving the car on each gear change, he said "I'm keeping the revs above 1500rpm to make the alternator charge the battery". I arrive home in the car just fine, he parks it on my driveway and gets in his sons car and drives off.
I leave the car for a week or 2, then i take my father out on a short 15 miles or so drive, car starts fine, SEEMS to work OK except the smell of a burning clutch despite being easy on the clutch with no over-revving one time in the short drive, i also notice the vibrations and poor acceleration, brakes being terrible, sloppy gearbox, rolling back with the handbrake on. Once i take it back home, over the course of the next month and a half i randomly once every 2 weeks go out and start the car, turn it off and on, within that month and a half, 3 times i go around the block in the car (no more than 1 mile each time). After the month and a half, i get concerned at the noticed problems which are horrendous, but no different from when i took my father out. I believe at the time, this is just how a 90s car, especially a ford escort drives as i had never driven one or been in one.
I go to a friends house, roughly 20 miles, again, i notice the same problems wrong with it as before when i went out in it with my father, except this time, the suspension also being very dreamy/light.
I go out one morning to start the car, it does not start. I pop the engine bay and notice oil is low, i look under the car, it's got a leak out of the oil sump.... i also suspect at this point one of the 4 cylinders is dead, i also noticed cracked/illegally worn tyres on all sides, corroded/rusted front brake discs, rusted battery bay, pedals footwell rusted (but with a new bolt/washer in the brake pedal), a blown number 9 radiator fan fuse, possibly stretched or worn throttle/clutch/handbrake/footbrake cables, parting seat backing on passengedriver seats, the actual seat where you sit on both passenger & drivers seat cover completely ripped and now putting orange dust everywhere, a broken built in clock, the carpet covering for the rear brake lights in the boot of the car, rusted brake lines, rusted wishbone joints, brake calipers. And lastly, i double check the cars tax, because i paid tax, and the tax expires December 1st, 2023 when that is not when i taxed it in December on the 31st 2022, i check paid car plate checking site "Un-named-car-checking-site-dot-com" and it lists 6 owners, him being the 6th owner, except for, traders are NOT listed as owners anywhere officially. This 6th owner, which is him purchased the vehicle on 14/05/22, and has held ownership for the car as of today, 9 months and 27 days, whereas i should technically be the 6th owner as he is a trader, and there is no 7th owner regardless which would ALSO be me if the trader bought the vehicle under his personal name and not the company name, but the purchase forms state that his company owns and is selling the vehicle.
At this stage, frustrated, i book an appointment for a pre-mot, visual check, and roadworthy/safety check at TC harrisons, ford, on the 21st march 2023 with the intention of getting the paperwork of things wrong with the car from ford, going back to the trader, giving him copies of the official papers from ford and under the consumer act 2015, telling him to repair the car. As if i say X thing is wrong with the car, i understand it is his duty within 6 months of purchase to prove the car when sold and currently had/has no faults, and if found, to repair them. And if i have that paper from ford, he can't just say the car is fine if i say the car is bad because then it's word vs word and he's the trader. I also am currently compiling screenshots of the misleading advert he put up to confront him with.
After booking the appointment, i take out the old battery, charge it up for 2 days, put it back in the car, no bueno, doesn't start. I get a relatives car next to mine, jump my car off of theirs and the car starts but dies if i do not keep the car above 1500rpm, at 2000rpm. The car is now only just running. So i take the opportunity to check out that dead cylinder and the oil. I fill up the oil, car when running is leaking oil faster than if turned off out of the oil sump plug and potentially an oil sump bolt. I also use an old trick to diagnose which cylinder is dead, engine running, i pull off the HT leads/spark plug wire off of cylinder 1's spark plug, i notice the electricity arcing to the spark and can hear the clicking sound, also i notice the engine runs rough when pulling the lead off of the spark plug. I can't access 2 and 3 as they're blocked by an air hose, so i go to cylinder 4, pull the leads off of spark, then engine does NOT change idle BUT i see electricity arcing to the spark and hear the click, BINGO, the vibrations, poor acceleration is due to a dead 4th cylinder. Then the car 10 minutes after being turned on (still running) immediately seizes with a check oil light on the dash, i check oil and oil level is still the same as how much i put in, in between max and min, barely any leak on the floor. I turn the car off and leave it for a day as the appointment was tomorrow, the 21st. (This was NOT related to the spark plug)
I book the TCH appointment in for the 21st, on the 21st, i install a NEW battery and fill up the oil. After putting in the new battery and oil, the car fires straight up and i notice it's actually not vibrating nearly as much, running smoother, and the engine is not moving as much, BINGO, the dead 4th cylinder was due to the bad used battery the trader put in the car (not spark although spark was terrible) and is also the one he must of fried when smoke was coming from terminals (which i think might've also blown the number 9 radiator fan fuse). I take out the 4th spark plug, and notice it's the incorrect plug for the car, it's for a ford fiesta, looks old, yellowed, carbon/oil fouled, beige/white (heat damage) on the spark and that the gap on the plug is too much for what the escort's spark plugs require. the previous day, the car seizing with a check oil light on is irrelevant because when it did, the 4th cylinder wasn't actually firing yet so the damage on spark is not due to the previous day. (unsure of what the current other cylinders' spark plugs are in the car). Meanwhile, while all of this is going on, i go out and buy new sparks, oil, coolant, tools to work on the car which cost a fortune.
Anyways, on the 21st i installed the new battery and oil, oil leak was bad but not a constant stream of oil that'd be dangerous to other road users, i get in the car, there's no oil light anymore, reverse it out my driveway, everything is working fine, until, 20 seconds down the road it feels like the clutch is slipping while stopped at a T junction (it wasn't the clutch), the car drops rpms a bit but brings itself back up quickly, i notice nothing further, 10 seconds from the T junction as i am about to enter a dangerously fast main road, the car cuts out/stalls and the engine immediately seizes and i mean no classic engine drop in rpm when turned off and the vibrational feel, i mean like IMMEDIATELY SEIZED AND STOPPED. At this point I'm already 2 hours late for the TCH appointment, i also notice for half a second thick white smoke out the exhaust, a check oil light on the dash. I do not turn the car back on, i check oil while being an obstruction at the 2nd T junction to enter the dangerously fast main road, it has enough oil, i check coolant, the car ate the coolant, which was at the max mark no more than 3 minutes earlier when i left my driveway. I push the car all the way back to my house, wait an hour for the car to be cold, start it one more time for 8 seconds to which it instantly starts, has slightly above the min mark of coolant in, the engine bay then starts smoking, the engine bay is also extremely hot in only 8 seconds of a cold start, i turn the vehicle off immediately. I suspect the head gasket out of nowhere decided to blow up, due to heat, coolant eating, exhaust smoke, engine bay smoke. BUT in driving the car all the other times, i did not notice any head gasket-like symptoms, yet for the car to suddenly blow a (suspected) head gasket like that and THAT severely and quickly, it had to be extremely bad from purchase, considering all the other problems with the car from purchase.
The day after, 22nd, i get the car recovered to ford, book a new appointment for early next week from now (25/03/23) and I'm hoping they'll in the invoice actually give me the technical breakdown of things wrong with the car, although apparently, they may NOT test the head gasket, only say "engine overheating" due to the checks they're performing potentially not including the head gasket. I also noticed the night prior, the night of the 21st, the trader guy (owner of the company with his wife) STILL did not transfer ownership of the car as it was still under his personal name and/or the company name, a whole 3 months and 21 days later. He gave me a new keepers slip, but did not tell me to do anything with it, he said he sent off the v5c to dvla when i purchased the car (31/12/22) which is also when i paid £295 tax on the car which never got added because i never owned the car (for some reason). I have an insurance policy on the car, and despite being allowed to be insured on a vehicle with another registered owner, i told my insurance i was the owner as i believed i was, making my insurance invalid but i only found that out AFTER recovering the car to TCH on the 22nd, day after the appointment (close call). I'm sure that would of meant i was driving with no insurance and the car would of been seized and sent back to the company, that's a massive fine and points.
After the car was recovered to TCH which was costly!!!, i went to the traders garage/business, recorded the conversation via phone voice recorder so i had records and he couldn't claim intimidation, told him i had not received the logbook/v5c 3 months and 22 days later after he said he sent them when i purchased the car. He said that DVLA must of lost it, or it got lost in the post but then also said he will send them again. I'm no genius, but HOW CAN HE SEND THEM AGAIN IF HE ALREADY SENT THEM AND THEY GOT LOST?!??!??? He also said he owns the car in trade and that they don't get a logbook, and that he said that "they" (dvla) "take 8-10 weeks to send a logbook", it's been 3 months and 25 days. He said he'd call me tomorrow (23/03/23) in the evening but did not specify when, when asked. He did call, but i missed his call. I also noticed the tyres on the car are 175 when they're supposed to be 185s and the "extensive" service history was actually missing quite a lot, including the tyre change, recent repairs/replacements, and a few owners.
END
As i understand it, if i take copies of the official ford documents about things noticed on my car when i receive them next week to the trader, a screenshot of the misleading description of the car, my own written statement of what i noticed, and the consumer rights act 2015, saying to him: "Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, this car should be of a satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. My rights have been breached because the car you sold me is faulty/doesn’t match the description. I would like you to put this right by repairing the car at your cost." while voice recording the whole thing to have records and dismiss any potential "intimidation" arguments, i should be good? I only want to take the docs to him once i have full ownership of the vehicle though, which will mean keeping him in the dark, just so he transfers ownership to me, then hitting him with the paperwork. I want to keep the car, but get all of my money back. From citizens advice i understand that since i am within 6 months of purchase, i can go to him with the paperwork, request a repair, since the car must of been faulty when purchased, but he would need to prove it which he can't just say the car was fine when sold since the ford document stating things are wrong with the car says otherwise, my statement, meaning he would need to actually fix the problems (which are going to be insanely hard as it's a head gasket + others). Once the repair (if he accepted) is done, as long as he doesn't take too long (i will get in writing from him when he will complete the repair and if longer than said date, get a partial refund and a repaired car), if the repair hasn't solved the problem(s) or another has developed, i may only get part of my money back, depending on how much i've used the car. But i could also ask for a discount if i still want the car. I am unsure of how much money he can deduce by giving me back part of my money divided by the amount of miles I've done or any other factor if there's any guidelines on how little he can pay me since i have used the car. And that i can use an out of court ‘alternative dispute resolution' agency like the motor ombudsman, but i can't if he/his company does not follow the ombudsman's codes which he does not. So it's looking like I'm going to have to go to court (small claims?) if he refuses to pay out after the repair or if the amount he pays out is minuscule in comparison to the price of the car, or if he denies a repair, denies a repair on grounds that everything is currently fine and was fine when sold despite the ford doc and me being within 6 months or any other clause he can use to get out of losing anything. The MOT however, is done by a guy that the trader knows well and is right next to his garage. The DVSA agree that on a 3-5 year old car a test can be completed in 30 minutes and upwards, above 5 years, 45 minutes is acceptable, and older cars as long as it takes, and the MOT failed on 2 things at 11:23am and then passed at 11:47am, 24 minutes, which violates the DVSA minimum time of 30 minutes while considering the trader knows the MOT guy extremely well, paid him to pass it (but can't prove it), and the fact that with what ford come back with in the pre-mot alone, not even with the other checks, WILL fail the pre-mot, and with what I've found, means that, that car should of NOT been passed or been on the roads. I know the trader will attempt to slither his way out of it by way of not paying or repairing or doing anything he can considering he knowing sold a misleading dodgy car, caused immense distress, financial loss and that if i was on a dual carriageway which i needed to go on to reach TCH, if that engine seized, the wheels would of locked up, i would've spun out caused an accident or death to another person or myself, flipping onto the roof of my car. This means, that i think i will end up taking him to court. Which although i feel like my case is clearly the winning side, i feel like i could end up with less or nothing from court, or the court would reach a fair judgement where he actually pays less, or i'm required to give the car back for all of my money, half my money back or a 2nd repair from him. I will have to probably solicitelawyer up (?) which would be the easiest pay days of their lives. I aim to keep the lovely car, but get as much money back as possible. I am not sure on the massive grey areas of the consumer rights act 2015, my specific case or where i stand, but i believe i am massively in the right of winning everything outright in court, or potentially losing, or only gaining half of everything. Can i have some guidance on what to do please? i am in a shitty situation with no knowing of law. Thank you for taking the time to read this abhorrently long post.

Here we go.. As a precursor - I have only seen a couple of posts, do not have an incredible story or earning millions and am not the most illiterate person so bear with me.
For those only interested in the usual tags I see; UK Male, 23, ADHD (Somewhat relevant to the story) Earning £80K-100k (Direct counterpart on US earning $150k-$200k as a somewhat relative comparison).
I have spent my entire life (so far) working towards something, I don’t know what it is and haven’t found that all important “goal” that everyone says to set, I understand why it’s important, but just can’t figure it out. I had a pretty sh*t upbringing, single Mum, Dad walked out, council house blah blah.
I always felt as if I have something to prove, but don’t know who I’m proving it to, I like to convince myself that I’m “different” or felt as if being boring / not wanting to go out every weekend etc was a part of my personality and have got to the point where I am introducing myself, I will usually find somewhere to add “I hate people”.
The above not seem relevant, but getting into it; I recently broke up with my girlfriend of 4 years, before, that wouldn’t be as much of a problem. A few years back, I would of had friends to turn to, or go out with and keep my mind off of it, whatever it is people tend to do after a breakup. Only difference is, over the past years I have lost the small group of about 4/5 friends (if that), due to me thinking I’m smarter, don’t fit in, or they were impacting my relationship. So, now I am at the point where I have no girlfriend, no friends to turn to, not the greatest relationship with family (not horrendous - but to the point where we would look at each other funny if I popped up out of the blue and suddenly started making time for them.
I don’t really know what I’m asking for here really, I must sound so f’ing spoilt, I am probably in the top 1% of earners my age, 6’3, somewhat decent looking, nice car, nearly debt free and still complaining. Not to mention there are people starving around the world, we’re basically in the middle of a recession, and I am choosing to be sad, and I don’t know why.
Maybe I just need someone to say “well done” or need some form of encouragement / validation. I know it must be hilarious for some of you to hear a near millennial / Gen-z (1999) saying they need validation, I would be in hysteric’s too, I am pretty self-aware, so some laughs are more than welcome.
I know this is a rant that won’t make a lot of sense and probably pretty similar to some of you, but would be keen to hear any thoughts or if anyone has gone through a similar stage in their life and how they got through it.
Thank you and sorry for wasting your time if this was boring, just looking for some advice.

I worked at a company that is unionized, however the company has yet to bargain with the union to get a contract in place meaning all stores that are unionized are under “laboratory conditions” meaning they have to leave the store the same as it was before the union came in. Corporate uses this as their reason to not implant new updated policies such as pay raises, dress code, they even refuse to place credit card tips into these stores.
We have a new manager who is enforcing rules that are on the book, however they weren’t being enforced prior to the union being voted in. They have been writing folks up for this and today they tried meeting with me about me breaking this “new” rule being enforced. When I asked if they can provide any evidence that this was being enforced prior to the union being voted in they said they cannot and that it doesn’t matter.
This manager has also spread misinformation about the union to new hires in their interview process going as far as saying their role as manager in the store is too “clean it out” as these new hires have approached me and told me this themselves and were asking for clarification on the managers statements.
Given these anti-union comments, and the enforcement of rules that weren’t being enforced prior, is this something I should report to the NLRB? From my point of view, these rules are only being used to push out the workers and bring in new ones in hopes of getting rid of the union.

My settlement is the jungle under the cliffs oasis. I died between the orchard and the otters den and I don't remember exactly where I lost the babies I had with me but they are still alive in a den somewhere South of the river and waterfall I cannot find them and don't want to restart. Does anybody know what the best solution is in my situation? I literally lost my whole tribe so I'm by myself and am considering restarting because of how hard it is to find new clan members near my new settlement. I couldn't pass a generation without a full tribe and I cannot move my settlement till these kids are found or die, what should I do? P.S. I've looked everywhere along the south river even scaled the cliffs.

So as of wednesday a neurologist diagnosed me with cluster headaches. Ive been having 2 headaches a day for nearly 3.5 weeks with all different pain levels. More sever pain levels like 11 or 12 outta 10 before starting predisone .. im from British Columbia Canada and have found immediately the importance of a family doctor. (Which i dont have) and how broken our universal healthcare system is. I have had a life changing diagnosis and have been givin no resourses or referals im out of the only meds i had romitrititan. Ive missed half of a months work. My depression is building.. and advice coming from experience would help. What do i do to adjust to my new life. What do people do at home to be comfortable. I can even find the drive to do basic chores. Please help me guys i would be forever grateful. Sorry about the gramar and spelling im in the middle of an attack right now and dont care lol.

I had a nice Chinese takeaway an hour or two ago and a family member prepared it for me. I felt a hard bit when I was eating, probably a hard piece of noodle or rice but my OCD thought what if something foreign ended up in the food? Said family member insisted there was no hard bits in it when they prepared it. Then a glass smashed in our living room. None went to my side of the room but I always have this thing about flying glass and what if it ended up in my direction and on my plate and I swallowed it by mistake. Then when I crack open my drinks can I worry about accidentally consuming sharp pieces of aluminium and have to run my finger along the cap to make sure none fell into the drink.
Now I've got a slightly weird occasional pain near my stomach and my throat's a bit scratchy. Is it psycho somatic or is it possible my OCD is right out of the 100 million times it's been wrong?
Note: I have health anxiety, death anxiety and a fear of toxins and small choking hazards. I also don't like being left alone or knowing my family are far away even though I'm 24.
Anyone managed to beat this?

I want to stop doing this because I love the life my partner and I have together but every time I’m alone I get super high on drugs and then get really horny and start looking for men near me to have sex with: I’ve never followed thru with it but I sometimes will send pictures of my penis to them.
It could be based on childhood trauma. I grew up in a homophobic town and because I had a high pitched voice the older kids would hold me down and spit on me / hit me with their penis in the face until I would say things like “I love big black c**k”

Is there a preferred a demonym for Xiu Xiu fans? My friend and I called ourselves Shwees.
Hello, /xiuxiu ! I've been a fan since I read the review of Knife Play on Pitchfork in 2002 (I'm 37 now). If anyone from that era is here and was on the SHZine board, say hi! I was 17 then, very depressed, and connected with Xiu Xiu like nothing before or since. I revisited Chapel of the Chimes the other day and Ten-Thousand-Times-A-Minute brought me to tears - only to have it happen again with Ceremony.
I've been an avid collector of everything Jamie over the last 21 years. I'm at a little over 150 items - vinyl, CDs, cassettes, shirts, posters, and other ephemera. I'll share photos of what I've got - I've put a lot of time into finding some of these variants, some from random record stores in Santa Barbara, CA, or from Jamie himself :)
I was taught to always bring a gift when entering someone's home, so I offer something I just heard last night and thought would be appreciated here more than anywhere else: a remix of "Pumpkin Attack on Mommy and Daddy" in the wild. It's by Fitnesss (@fit.n3ss on Instagram); I saw them open for Model/Actriz last night. I was at the bar getting a beer and heard the beginning of the track - I thought they were just sampling it, but it turned into a banger remix that the crowd really enjoyed: https://youtu.be/gyZEbnx1nt8