Audible how many devices

Hi all! I have a small 3 x 3 garden, and I'd like to fill it up with common Lavender plants. I have two questions however: 1. How many plants will I need for this surface? And 2. I have read some information about Lavender being toxic to cats. I have quite a lot of cats visiting my garden regularly, and although keeping them out wouldn't be a problem to me, I have no wish to poison them. Could this actually become a problem? Thanks a lot!

Badrapra - a name that would go down in history - is a planet smack dab on the edge of human space, a planet that sat at the junction of several supply lanes and commerce hubs, and was for all intents and purposes, a fortress world as a result. Considering it was the only way through a region of space that was known for lost ships that ventured out into the twin nebulas, from which nothing but space wildlife ever returned, it was as you might think, a damn important planet to hold onto. A planet from which a counter attack could be launched in any direction, a chokepoint that couldn’t be breached without exorbitant cost to resources and manpower. A planet from which a foe could strike at the heart of humanity should they take it.
Which was why Humanity and the Ta’Ex were currently brawling over it. The reasons for the current interstellar conflict aren’t important, what is important is this planet, over and on which the two belligerents have fought each other to a standstill. Upon this planet is a fortress, a fortress garrisoned by some of the most seasoned men and women of the Terran military, and trenches span the entire planet, surrounding cities and industry as protection against invasion.
In orbit it is much the same, sort of. Instead of trenches there are reefs of defense satellites and weapons emplacements, shoals of warships patrol the space around the planet and the lanes that all are forced to use. It was built to be impenetrable, imposing in a way that any foe would cower at the mere mention of it. And yet…
And yet the Ta’Ex had launched a bold assault upon the planet, bringing four of their largest fleets to bear down upon the defenses. It was a brutal fight, losses were heavy on both sides, but neither was willing to back down. It was the same on the ground, the Ta’Ex had made planetfall with relative ease, only to find themselves staring at trench lines that were miles thick and brimming with all manner of terrible weaponry. Since humanity was unwilling to give up their defensive positions and simply let the enemy break themselves against said defenses, things quickly devolved into a game of waiting and patience.
The Ta’Ex had boldly walked right into the fire, thinking they could easily beat such defenses, they were quite wrong about that. In less than four hours they’d lost several thousand troops to coordinated artillery, air and ground fire, while humanity lost not even a percentage of that. So the Ta’Ex decided to emulate humanity instead, building their own counter trenches and emplacements.
And now the course of any engagement was predicated on who was winning in space. Regular supply drops and the rotating of troops off the frontlines became exceedingly difficult at times thanks to the back and forth nature of the spaceborne conflict. So, as is want to happen in such cases, the soldiers grew bored, and in some cases, desperate.
For example, on the day the battle would end. Nobody knew it at the time, but one small event would change the course of the battle in favor of humanity, as the Ta’Ex would get a taste of what humanity was truly like, and it would be a thing that shook them to their core.
A fine morning indeed, or so it appeared. The silence over the trenches was an illusion that could be shattered at any moment by artillery or gunfire, yet none came. And so the Ta’Ex commander watched the birds in the sky instead, sipping on a hot drink that was his species' equivalent of human coffee. It served to give him that extra little jolt that would keep him awake, something he needed these days since the most that ever happened were one side hurling insults at the other and the occasional potshot just to remind the enemy that they still existed.
I, Lord Commander Issal, turned my attention to the device they were building, it was a two fold thing. The first part of it would project a moveable shield which could theoretically withstand an orbital strike and would allow their troops to advance on the enemy trenches without fear of death. The other part, was a directed energy weapon, one capable of leveling entire city blocks if they so wished, or even striking at an orbiting capital ship with reasonably grand results.It would be a good weapon to use when they began to advance, as it could soften targets with ease in a way that artillery wasn’t quite capable of.
At the moment only the cannon was built, and even that wasn’t fully ready for deployment, there were several simulations still needing to be run, but I was confident that soon we could begin a proper assault, once the shield platform was complete. That said, I had a feeling of unease settle over me as a heavy fog rolled in and partially obscured the sky.
A few orders later and I was certain that any potential attack could be thwarted during such a phenomenon. What I wasn’t expecting was to see a shape walk out of the mist that was distinctly not a Ta’Ex. See, we Ta’Ex are a very tall species, they sport six limbs, four arms and two legs. The second pair of arms are smaller and widely considered to be vestigial at this point in their evolution. Their bodies covered in a light coating of fur, vaguely avian heads and a long stinger tipped tail. Like some sort of really fucked up hybrid of a bird, scorpion and a dog as the humans would say. That generally didn’t offend the Ta’Ex, they understood that some species were really only able to compare them to somewhat similar creatures on their homeworlds, that was alright.
What walked out of the mist was not Ta’Ex, but human. Smaller than the Ta’Ex by at least four human feet, lacking the extra limbs and fur, plus no tail which was just wrong on so many levels. I expected a human in power armor, which we had discovered to be exceedingly devastating against us, with no real counter beyond sticking a det-pack somewhere where they couldn’t reach and blowing them up. Instead, this human walked casually through our trench in what they call ‘shorts’ and a ‘t-shirt’, their hair messy and the beginnings of something called a ‘beard’ showing along their jaw. Even their boots were untied, loose and flopping around their hideous feet as they walked.
So stunned we all were that nobody moved as the human walked wearily up to the cannon controls - which I know really shouldn’t be out in the open like they were, but the design of the cannon resulted in the controls being outside rather than protected internally- and just stared at them for what felt like ours. I was about to bellow a war cry and charge the human when they finally moved. It felt as though my perception of time slowed as I watched their five fingered hand curl only four digits, what they called an index finger rigid and extended as it rose into the air, and then began a descent towards the control panel. Nobody moved, nobody even dared to breathe, as that finger pushed a button.
Nothing happened, and the human seemed to be confused by this, as they pushed the button several more times before they tried simply holding it down. When even that didn’t work they let out a little huff of annoyance and started pushing other buttons, till one actually did something. He paused when the capacitors began drawing power audibly, quickly too, and finally the first button he’d been pressing lit up as the charging sequence finished.
With a soft shrug and a frown of sorts they pushed the button one more time, before the sky was split in two and darkened considerably as a violet beam of energy lanced forth from the cannon. It lasted for thirty seconds before suddenly shutting down, the cannon barrel smoking and the human looked surprised before they shrugged and uttered a sentence that would haunt me forever.
“Huh… So that’s what that does. Neat.” And they turned around and walked casually back through the trenches. When they reached the perimeter they climbed up and out, sauntering lazily across the open fields between our lines. A flurry of panicked comms chatter reached me finally, and as I listened with a mounting sense of horror and even embarrassment, I learned that this random human who had fired our weapon quite by chance, had also heaped more misfortune upon us.
Our flagship was in flames.
Against all odds, the stars had seemingly aligned for this one human to make an unguided and unintentional attack against the pride of our fleet, using our very own weapon against us, all because he’d let his own curiosity get the better of his judgement, and because I, in my shock, had simply allowed it to happen.
I sat down heavily, and wondered what to do. Two hours later, word had spread far and wide, and we no longer wished to fight these apes, for what new misfortunes could they heap upon us in their pursuit for the cure to boredom? An hour after that, the war was over.
– – – – – –
When Corporal Flynn made it back to his particular stretch of shitty trench, he found the company CO standing there waiting for him, and he did not look impressed.
“Just what the hell were you thinking Corporal!?” Captain Mcgowan practically spat, and the corporal stared blankly at him for approximately two seconds before responding, realization crossing his face before he grinned broadly.
“I was bored, sir.”

Its is entertaining watching her whisper loudly because she cant read sentences silently.
SHUH DUH FUH CUP!!!!
(I can only imagine how many times she is having to sound this out to understand it🤣🤣🤣)

There are so many stories I could share but I’ll stick with the most recent issue that’s coming up this weekend.
My husband and I have been together 24 years, married for 20 of those years. I’ve struggled a lot with his family from the very beginning of our relationship. I’ve bent over backwards for them all these years and they’ve literally used me and abused me. My MIL has never cared about my feeling or needs. Everything revolves around her needs. Never mattered to her how I felt about anything as long as she gets what she wants. My FIL sexually assaulted me for years until my husband finally saw it for himself and put an end to it. I put all these things aside and still wanted them to accept me. I kept my feelings to myself because I didn’t know better. I didn’t want to upset my husband and put him in a bad position. But it just made things worse for myself.
My husband has a hard time standing up to his parents so they inevitably get everything they want from us. I believe 95 percent of the problems in our marriage have to do with his family.
Our oldest is graduating this weekend. We live 2-3 hours from our parents so they a lot of times stay overnight when they visit. It is close enough we’ve made single day trips to visit and our parents have (kinda) done the same. I say kinda because my in-laws don’t really do it because they guilt my husband so he’ll offer them to stay with us. With our sons graduation this weekend I asked my husband what we will do if our parents want to stay overnight because we don’t have the space for all of them. He told me nobody would be staying with us. Well, last night I found out my in-laws thought they’d be staying with us. Only they were trying to manipulate my husband by asking if they’d be staying with us or would they need to get a hotel? I was livid! I told my parents nobody would be staying with us and they were perfectly fine with that. They hadn’t even considered it. I don’t understand why my husband can’t be clear with his parents and just tell them nobody will be staying. And why do the in-laws think it’s necessary to get a hotel?
I know a lot of people will likely think there’s nothing wrong with them staying in a hotel. I should be happy they aren’t staying at my house but for me it means I have to continue hosting until they go back home.
I just needed to vent but any advice is helpful.

I'm thankful that Cindy's Pleasant Sims page is still up at least and I hope she is faring well despite the many complex situations she is currently dealing with. For those that want to help her out and not just criticize her every word and move, we can play her old Pleasant Sims videos and hit like if we haven't before on each video.
She has, after all, afforded a great deal of useful knowledge regarding Sims 2 and how to organize custom content, mods, and so on in ways that other Youtubers failed to expand upon so well.
I've made it a point to download certain videos so I don't lose that very helpful knowledge on the game, just in case she decides to take the Pleasant Sims channel down too (I hope not).

I put this on the official Discord's suggestion topic, and I'm presenting it here for scrutiny. Discuss, mock, whatever.
​
Topic
A way to encourage more than just glass cannon builds, or at least abandon the illusion that anything else is viable.
Reason
Any player worth their salt knows that there are two kinds of viable build:

• Full glass cannon.
• Just enough defensive stats to survive a hit from whatever you want to survive a hit from, but otherwise go full glass cannon.

It's what makes NGS what it is; a twitchy blast of a game that is elevated from mediocrity by its combat system. But it also presents a problem: there are many other stats other than offensive, so much so that it gives the illusion of choice in how to build your character. But those builds are dead ends, and woe to the newbie who, for example, makes a durable tank build only to learn that the only metric for success in things like Devastators and R2s is to beat the timer.
There really ought to be a way to make use of augments and builds other than pure offense, or at the very least, the game should stop providing guard and resistance augments, abandoning the delusion that these are of any benefit to players.
Some rough ideas:

• Every Augment that does not provide some sort of offensive stat could, in addition to its normal effect, provide an almost equal amount of "Counter Potency" (that only affects counters/parries, Step Counters, and the like). This opens alternative builds where you can focus on other stats, but you still can pump out damage via countering. You'd never equal the output of a glass cannon (who will outdamage you on counters and WAY outdamage you otherwise), but you wouldn't be so far behind as to be demoralizing, and could even use that as a way to slowly get comfortable with the game and use less safety nets.
• Contents with a timer (Devastators, R2s, etc.) give the players a choice between whether they want to beat the timer or work towards some other victory condition, like a longer timer in exchange for mobs having much higher damage output and/or some uncounterable/un-Step-Dodgeable moves.
• Drop the pretense and get rid of most of the non-offensive stats and augments.

Why
To prevent the newbie trap and either promote alternative and viable playstyles, OR drop all pretense and help ALL players focus on what the devs clearly want them to focus on.

For nearly a YEAR, admiral haters have used "sabo and a few good men", "Fujitora's bandages", "Flame Emperor", ect to try and downplay and shit on the admirals.
Now we've been given proper context to the events of the reverie, and we know that not only were the Admirals severely nerfed to the point of not being able to fight properly (as they said themselves), but also ended up fighting each other over their different views of justice after Fujitora assisted the revolutionaries in freeing slaves.
This explains how and why the Revolutionaries were able to infiltrate the holy land and free slaves without getting caught, it explains why Fujitora was bandaged up after the events of the reverie, and DISPROVES many of the talking points admiral haters have used in the wake of 1054. Hence why so may admiral fans are celebrating the chapter.
But jesus christ you wouldn't know that looking at this sub or on twitter.
Now everything has shifted to "this isn't even an admiral W", "gorosei are stronger than admirals", "nobody said sabo 2v1 the admirals" (lmfao), "admirals get so few Ws their fans think this means something", "Admirals still took an L", "Greenbull still couldn't beat Morley", "the story presented it in that way, that's why I believed [insert stupid thing here]" (lmfao again).
Pretty insane gaslighting if you ask me.
JUST. ADMIT. YOU. WERE. WRONG.

I know many of us are in the same boat with how we feel about unpaid extracurriculars. Some combo of "it's the way it's always been" and "it shouldn't be."
I'll admit, the more I learn about workplace rights and unionization, the more I think this status quo is absolutely hilarious. One of our best bargaining chips is "work to rule" or... doing our regular jobs.
I'm not sure what the result will be with the collective bargaining in Ontario right now, but this seems to be a HUGE blind spot. I can't imagine working in any other public sector job where you're expected to perform such a large part of your job essentially off the clock.
I'm wondering if there are any other teachers out there who have put their foot down on unpaid labour and politely refused to take on extracurriculars until they are compensated for it.
For my part, I think taking on a small extracurricular responsibility is totally fine and wouldn't mind running a small club once a month. But when I see people coaching multiple sports, weekend events, etc. I just think "where does your time come from, and why are you spending it working for free?"
Obviously I know all about the pressure to take on more, and the state of educational funding. But I also don't think anything will change unless people DO start putting their foot down and expecting to be paid for their work.
Especially for people lower on the pay scale or supply teachers (I didn't even know supplies did extracurriculars, whaaaaat), working all those hours would put you damn near minimum wage. It just seems so obviously ridiculous to me, but so commonplace and expected to others.

I (f27) am a first year marine biology master student. Today was the first day of a two-day trip for my internship that starts in September. I got to see a bit of where I will be working and also really met my supervisor and the other people I will be working with.
Honestly, the imposter syndrome and anxiety are hitting me hard right now. Throughout the day couldn’t help but think I’m not smart enough to do it, and how I’m awkward and don’t feel confident despite nearing my 30s. I feel so small. I love science, and I have worked hard to be where I’m now. However, I feel I’m just not good enough. I’m not the fastest learner, and can get confused quite easily by certain things because I’m dyslexic and also have dyscalculia. I’ve been struggling with suicidal ideation for years and throughout this whole day my brain kept whispering I should just end myself already because this is useless. I’m so afraid I will be a disappointment, a useless student who in the end is not good enough for anything. In comparison with others I feel like I’m so behind, I will never be so confident and free of these endless negative thoughts.
Even though I’m not depressed, there have been so many instances were I wished to just go to sleep and never wake up again. There are still so many things I want to do in life, but I’m really tired at the moment. The suicidal thoughts are quite prominent right now.
I’m so overwhelmed right now and cannot stop crying.

Hi everyone, UK based tech here. Just wondering with BIAB, how many infills before soaking off and doing a new set?
I was taught max 2, pushing 3 infills before soaking off as so to check the health of the natural nail, and to see if there are any infections etc.
I currently use the Magpie Beauty BIAB system.
Thank you!! :)

It was another night by the river, and another day of blood. Denam could hardly stomach all of it; every hour was a slaughter, a reminder that no matter what he did, he could not escape the vicious will of his superiors.
These were his people he had been made to massacre; Tyg knew Denam's heritage, or at least the story he had told. Perhaps his old friend thought a halfblood more numb to the suffering of the smallfolk, but Denam supposed that he had brought some of this pain on himself; it was by a lie that he took on the name Rivers, after all, and a liar could be no saint before the eyes of the Seven.
He himself had not grown so far from Pinkmaiden; Stoney Sept had been his home once, and his lowborn drunkard of a father could hardly be called a pious man – but what judgement could a murderer levy against a hedonist?
For a long time, Denam had followed in Tyg's talk of duty – of unflinching loyalty to the demands of his betters, of honour and obedience to a system that had eaten away at his respect for both himself and the men he had for so long called his brothers.
"No!" cried the next man of many to be readied for the butchering, "please! Kill me, but spare my children! I beg you, have mercy..." he pleaded, a look of desperation evident on his face, one that had grown all too common in recent days.
"Orders're orders, fella," said one of the soldiers, "it ain't nothin' personal. It'll be quick for all of ya, don't worry. Our commander don't let us torture or rape; too many folks to kill for us to have time for that."
With a quick motion, he plunged an already bloodied knife into the man's neck, kicking him down as he watched the Riverman choke on his own blood.
With the aid of another soldier, he picked the peasant up, giving the body a few swings for momentum before tossing it into the river.
Watching the killing unfold, Denam's felt his hands clench into fists with the gritting of his teeth. He grew closer and closer to his limit, his inhibition wearing thin as he inched closer to the thing he had wanted to do for a fortnight entire.
A powerful, inexplicable wave of anger reverberated through his skull, and without any more will for hesitation he shrugged the longbow from his shoulder, quickly nocking an arrow before depositing it in the neck of one of the soldiers.
The other three soldiers present wheeled back in shock, their eyes widening as they realized they had been betrayed. One opened his mouth to speak, but Denam's next arrow pierced straight through to his spine, and the man crumpled to the ground. The two men remaining charged him, and Denam managed to plant an arrow in the chest of the nearer one before throwing down his longbow, unsheathing his sword to face his final adversary.
"Traitor!" exclaimed his former comrade, the nearby peasants fleeing as they traded blows. The exchange would prove a brief one, a well-placed slash catching his opponent's throat before the life fled from his eyes.
The soldiers further down the river caught sight of the runaway peasants, quickly moving to give chase – and a cascade of chaos erupted as more of the captive smallfolk broke away to flee. Frantically, Denam considered his options – and swallowed hard as he realized what he would have to do next.
Swiftly ascending the back of his courser, he broke into a hard gallop for a nearby hill – where Tyg's command tent had been pitched.
Arriving at the tent, two guards outside greeted Denam, unaware as yet of his mutiny.
"Lieutenant! Is everything alright? We heard the commotion from the river. What should we do?"
"Ride hard for the river; they'll need what help they can get. I'll keep watch over Ser Tygren – go, quickly!"
The men nodded in a hurry, quickly climbing atop mounts of their own before speeding away – leaving no one in the way of Denam's justice.
Entering the tent in a slow and muffled gait, Denam came across a rather unexpected sight – there was 'Commander' Tygren Lannister, his unconscious face pressed against a sheet of parchment, his inkwell having spilled about the table's surface.
Denam's nose wrinkled in disgust at the sight – a plate of venison and a crust of bread left untouched, with flies swirling about them, just as Tyg had allowed his men to seize and steal grain and cattle. Slowly, he slid his sword free of its scabbard, his heartbeat quickening.
Drawing nearer to his former friend, Denam poked at the crust of bread on the table – hard as a stone. Denam felt the furrowing of his brow; his nose told the rest of the story, and he judged that the meat must have been there at least a day, probably two.
Next Tyg was a letter, which Denam quickly took to reading; as he progressed further through its contents, his brow furrowed more and more. Numerous spots sported small discolourations – the memory of tears, he realized. Cruel creature as his erstwhile friend may have been, there yet remained those who held him in love and esteem.
His curiosity piqued, Denam's eyes were drawn to the half-written letter over which the production of Tyg's mouth had collected. Ordinarily, Tygren's penmaship was notably handsome – but this writing was surprisingly messy, as if it were another man entirely who had scrawled it out.

Ro,
Your wishes are mine as well. If I could snap my fingers and make it all so, then I would have no need of this letter – but this life is so much more difficult than that.
I'm not a good I'm not the right You were wrong to love You deserve someone better I'm not worth You're worth more*
I've had to killed* many innocents during this campaign. The king ordered Tywald wanted me to I didn't want to I killed them to strike fear and terror in the Rivermen. I wanted to serve loyally to do my duty to see you again to earn his respect to see as much death as possible. I wanted to terrorize the Rivermen and see their surrender.*

The writing devolved into messier letters, crossed over too many times to make out. Denam exhaled softly; he felt his shoulders drop, running the fingers of his free hand through the brown of his hair. King Aerys, Tywald... and Tyg. His best friend, the man he thought he would serve alongside for the rest of his days – a Lannister, so highborn, leagues above the common Riverman himself; but perhaps, he supposed, they had both submitted to the wills of their superiors.
They followed orders, and they acted by command of the law, rather than their own morals and convictions – and it was as a consequence of that very will that he had drawn his blade on a brother. He stood there for a moment, frozen in indecision, before a familiar face burst into the tent.
Alphonse.
"Tyg, I–" he began, interrupting himself as he caught sight of Denam, sword in hand, standing so near to Tygren as he slept. He frowned, looking his old friend up and down, then drew his own sword.
"What are you doing, Denam?" asked the lordling, confused with the sight.
"I... I don't know anymore."
Alphonse raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? From where I stand, you look to have drawn your blade on our commander. Am I incorrect?"
Denam sighed, saying nothing. The look etched in his face would say it all, he supposed.
"Step away from the commander, Denam," said Alphonse, raising his sword, "or I will do what I must."
It was a pained look adorning Alph's features, but neither youth lowered his blade as Denam rounded the table.
"Not a step further, Rivers," said his old friend, "or I'll cut you down where you stand. You'll wait right there until our men come to apprehend you."
Denam scowled in response.
"Rivers? Is that all I am to you, Alph? Is my blood too tainted for your friendship? What of all the days we spent together – hunting, riding, sparring. Does none of that mean anything to you?"
His friend's lip quivered, a few tears rolling down his cheeks.
"I... no, that's not what I meant, Denam. What would you have me do? You draw your blade against a companion – our commander, no less – and you would ask that I look the other way? I jape with your name, I know, but... you're still noble stock. Put down your blade, and we can put this behind us."
Tears stung at Denam's own cheeks, but he held his sword steady.
"And how am I to know that you won't strike me down the moment you have me off guard? Besides... I don't have a drop of noble blood in me. I'm no Rivers. Just another commoner – another peasant Riverman you'd have stuck your blade in, had I not come to the West years ago."
At this, Alphonse was clearly taken aback, his reddened eyes widening.
"So you're a liar and a traitor then?"
A well of anger rising in his stomach, Denam's grip grew tighter against the hilt of his weapon – but both men grew silent when a familiar voice came to their ears.
"Denam? Alph? What's going on...?" asked Tygren groggily, raising his head from the table. Denam found himself shocked once again; there before him was a famished man, more starved than any he'd seen before. His cheeks were terribly hollow, their bones sickeningly pronounced. If the men had brought death to the Riverlands, Tygren was the image of death itself.
The lads exchanged tense looks before stowing their blades. Alph would be the first to speak.
"Erm, well... there was an escape attempt by several of the peasants at the river this evening." said Alphonse tersely.
"I see... and what of it?"
Alphonse cleared his throat.
"They weren't difficult to ride down. We dragged most of them back to the river, and killed the ones who insisted on resistance."
Denam bristled in another wave of anger, but he let it go. He knew that there would be nothing to gain anymore. Tygren rubbed at his eyes, letting out a yawn.
"I see... good. Was there anything else...? And why were you two holding your swords, anyway... trying to kill me, are you, hah..."
Before any more words could be spoken, a courier burst into the tent, rapidly drawing breath; Denam recognized him as one of Tygren's outriders.
"Commander, lieutenants... I apologize for the interruption, but... a dragon makes for Pinkmaiden from Riverrun!"
Tygren shot up from his seat.
"Godspit... very well. It's fine; we've seized most of Pinkmaiden's valuables anyhow. We'll have time to outrun it; we make for Deep Den with haste."
Sheepishly, the scout shook his head.
"No, commander... Morning is faster by far than our calculations. Alysanne Velaryon will be here within sixteen hours at the most."
Tygren groaned, rubbing again at his eyes.
"Ah... very well, then. Prepare the men to march. We'll keep ourselves apace from any army that would follow her, at least."
Denam watched the exhaustion in Tygren's eyes as he gave his order; soon enough he would leave the West behind, but for now the young Riverman would remain.
He would not serve Tywald a moment longer, but perhaps it wasn't too late to save his old friends.

How do you guys deal with arrogant and condescending people at locals? There have been many times I go to locals, and a large amount of people come off very friendly, but are really the exact opposite. Some have talked down to me for my card choices. Just because the didn’t agree with it, and many other things. I usually do fairly well when I go. I thought maybe they thought I didn’t know what I’m doing, but I’m usually in the top cut so I have to be doing something right. How can I deal with those type of people without being rude.

I don't watch porn or anything but occasionally I like to release for relaxation, how exactly will nofap benefit me, if I go so many days without fapping I'll be horny all day and won't be able to get it off my mind and I'll end up just having a wet dream anyway

Looking for a little advice now that I've collected some quotes, and this sub seems super helpful.
Background: I live in Iowa, so hot and humid summers to go with brutally cold and dry winters. I currently have a Trane A/C and furnace, but it was installed in 2005 so looking into replacing both. No problems with the furnace as of yet, but the AC has had to be recharged 3 times in the last two years, so there's a major leak somewhere. Only a matter of time before it dies again this summer. House is 2.5 story, 100 years old so a bit drafty and uneven between the basement and the 2nd story, and some rooms are worse than others. No returns on the 2nd story, just supplies so that doesn't help. Windows are all newer and really good though. Planning on being in the house at least another 10 years. 1750-ish sq ft finished above ground and another 620-ish finished in the basement.
I've had 4 companies come out to give me estimates. All have been around for a while, as far as I can tell all would do a good install, though I have absolutely no way of knowing that for sure. They've given me quotes for Amana, Trane, Lennox, and Carrier. So many different versions and add-ons, and also a few quotes for heat pumps. Quotes range from $7,500 to $14,500.
I could post all the quotes if helpful, but I guess my main questions are:

• Should I even consider a heat pump in this climate? Those are among the upper end quotes, but surprisingly not the very highest.
• Two companies didn't do any kind of size analysis at all, just went by the existing stuff. But the other two companies that did came back with different sizing. Is that dependent on the brand at all? All are either 2.5 or 3 ton.
• Current AC is a single stage. How much more comfortable would I be during the summer spending the extra $ on a 2-stage or inverter?
• One of the estimates was 10 years parts and labor warranty without having to sign up for an ongoing maintenance contract, which I liked. Unfortunately, they were also the highest price (I'm assuming that's a big part of the reason why). The others were all 1 year labor with the option to buy a longer warranty for $500 or whatever. I'm assuming I should probably not pinch pennies here?
• Are there any of these brands I should just eliminate due to them being terrbile or not being able to gets parts easily or whatever?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

I know the obvious answer here is WWE 13, which I am playing now and still enjoying, but there are little things here and there that I am underwhelmed by in 13. Visually the game looks great, but I don't feel a lot of differences between the wrestlers when playing - aside from stunned grapples and finishers, the movesets feel nearly identical for each wrestler and lack the individuality and nuance of other wrestling games. For example, I really like how The Rock plays in HCTP - there are so many more little nuances and flair to his movements, but that's more Hollywood Rock than Attitude Rock. SYM Rock looks a little off to me visually for some reason.
I really enjoy 2K23 as well but think it's lacking in Attitude era guys (I'm hesitant to fill my game up with CAWs of varying quality).
Is there a post-N64 game that you think does the Attitude era best and why?

Preface that I am ADHD as they come and literally work as a therapist for ADHD so, you know, that's how things like this happen. As with everything in our lives, the metaphor is not fully cooked and constantly tangents into new meanings as I discuss it with clients, but thought I would drop it here in hopes someone finds it helpful.
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IF YOU have played the new Legend of Zelda game, there is a new mechanic called 'gloom'-- extremely aptly named-- which for me visually personifies the underlying feelings of stagnancy, emotional inertia, rejection sensitivity freeze, however you would perceive that constant shitty feeling we commonly experience. The shit exists in spaces not hit by light, is all over the map randomly, and though certain areas are more concentrated and put you at more risk, you could accidentally step in it at pretty much any time. The metaphor works well just at this face value.
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But furthermore, it is the way that this 'gloom' affects us that really seems like a good symbolic model. The health system in the game works as a series of hearts, and as we gain more experience and overcome more adversity, we extend our hearts from just 3 to begin all the way to 30. Though hearts (emotional bandwidth, regulation ability, resilience) can get depleted, we can restore them by eating foods (coping, medication, good experience/connection, etc) and eventually we can gain so many hearts that we can notably take more 'damage' without becoming more depleted. We certainly would love to live a life of full hearts, but we can realistically feel better the more capacity we have for health.
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Now here is where the 'gloom' mechanic comes around. When a player is touching the gloom for too long, heart capacity begins to weaken, as the hearts that we have gained will "break", temporarily disallowing that container to be refilled. The more hearts that break, the less capacity we have to refill, and if you play the game like me, you are possibly not considering that angle and instead just perceiving the game as getting harder and more unfair.
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It is not particularly difficult to restore ourselves from gloom-- on paper. All it requires is stopping the current task completely, going back to a more calm place with a lot of light, and taking time to restore ourselves... So you know, *"on paper"*. If you are reading this as an ADHD person, you may see where I am going with it-- we are FAR, FAR more likely to just accept our lessening capacity and/or not realize, tell ourselves we will just grit through it, then feel like we have completely failed when we have to face a large challenge that we would REGULARLY have the capacity for, and perceive that experience as being not good enough. Though many may not view this as much, I believe it is a good way to explain how it is SO HARD to break out of negative emotional states despite seeming so easy, as we just really struggle to connect that taking time, and taking time for ourselves, is far more advantageous than trying to continue to mask and soldier on.
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Just a little two cents, take it how you will. The cure to the 'gloom' in the game is seeing the light, so metaphorically we would then identify what our "light" would be and then consider how aware we are of when the gloom is lowering our capacity and how well we know to fix it. This has led to another interesting concept of how much easier our lives may be if we did have our vitals displayed to us like in a video game, and the metaphor can be further spun as "how do we actively *realize* that our capacity is lowering along with the idea of us just wanting to "tough it out" and making the false assumption that approaching life with a full capacity is not much of an advantage over living our lives with restricted access to things we may have ability to reach in more regulated times.Hope this helps someone and I'm not just info dumping! Lol I would love hearing any sort of addendums or alternate interpretations, but just thought I would share as it has been a very helpful reframe for myself and a few clients I have discussed it with.
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I wish you all as much dopamine as you can possibly get on this fine day.

Nevermind. His wife’s boyfriend changed it for him.

The situation is that my fiancé’s parents are funding the majority of the wedding but want it to be a certain way (passivly not forcefully). I won’t name the culture but their expectation is a combined service & reception at the local church with lots of people. Basically inviting every family member or family relative on the generational tree, many that my fiancée doesn’t even know.
She would like to have a smaller, more meaningful group of guests at a more “picturesque” venue, not casting any negativity on churches as those can be very beautiful places. In fiancés eyes, doubling the guest list from what we would’ve done seems like a lot of money that could go elsewhere.
So how would you/have you navigated this conflict of interest? We are extremely grateful that they are throwing us this wedding and understand that there are cultural motives, but how does she work towards getting her dream wedding when her parents might want something else? It’s not our money but it is a celebration of our life & bond and everything that we’ve achieved together.
As the future groom, I am taking the backseat approach here. But it is also my wedding too right…?

As the title says, I am burned out to the point that I took this semester off, without communicating it to anyone. Some context: I started my PhD the semester prior when COVID happened, the first year was practically nonexistent since they closed the Uni down and many of the professors needed to take online classes to understand how to use an online educational platform to generate content and distribute their material for students (many profs are old). We were all on standby, since I was giving a general lab at that time. Then, when online classes started it was a mess for N-amount of reasons. This lasted for a year and a half, making it a total of 2 years.
When professors and grad students were able to finally return to the Uni facilities, since the instruments were not in use, some of the instruments, due to lack of daily calibration, were inoperational. However, during the "physically going back to the lab to work on my thesis" between a category 4 hurricane and various earthquakes, many of the lab equipment/instruments haven't functioned properly since or just don't work. That is including the instruments I needed to finish my thesis. To this day they are still not fixed. And yes, I reached out to use another institute's lab equipment but I do not have the money to pay for the travel or substrate shipping & handling.
Anyway, the two years I was physically taking classes and giving labs it was too much since I had to give two sessions of a very advanced lab where I was not given any material or training per say, it was a "do-everything-yourself" lab from content creation, teaching them how to do things properly in a workshop/lab (these are COVID kids so everything they know was via short youtube videos and don't take seriously the importance of safety) to grading paper-like reports where my advisor was the prof in charge of said labs.
In addition, he had me practically being the lab "buddy" of all his undergrad students so not only did I have to teach them how to do things in a lab (these are COVID kids as well) I had to be there with them, I was the lab technician for things out of my knowledge zone, generating quotes for reactives, making me work on a project he needed grad students in (I am his only grad student since his prior one quit) and I barely was able to work on my things. Thanks to this, I developed a condition and had to start going to therapy. Honestly, I don't know if I should go back or not finish for my mental stability/health. If I don't finish what do I have for a 4 year gap in my CV/resume? Is it worth it if I do?