Hey KS!!! 🔪 ❤️
Everything reduced!!!
I’m wanting to do some sales today, but I’d consider a trade for a Spyderco Endela in k390 or a Kizer Mad Tanto in green Micarta.
Take 5 off each additional item since I’ll be combining the shipping cost… or YOLO EVERYTHING that’s left and take off 30%!
First YOLO takes it… message or chat me after to set up payment/shipping details. Open to reasonable offers, especially if buying multiple items.
PayPal Friends and Family (PPFF) preferred - NO NOTES (I can also do Zelle as a second option).
I ship USPS (typically the next day), and provide tracking information.
❌I’ll mark items as GONE if they are no longer available. GONE❌
Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/OISs6PD

Sog Kiku XR SV:122 (or 127 if you want me to send the giant box it came in) / TV: 190

1st owner - not cut, carried, or sharpened - comes with left and right hand clips - green g10 and cryo CTS XHP https://imgur.com/a/YgqzVUt

Discontinued Kubey Tarzan SV:68 / TV: 90

titanium frame lock aus10 - very light use (cut some papeenvelopes) comes with box - second owner (small black mark on backspacer… came like this - see photos for specifics) - second owner Photos: https://imgur.com/a/TDP5VHY Video: https://imgur.com/a/R4UtN2Z

Remette aka QYGMGS GD22K SV: 26

new in box, blacked out - D2 and G10 - first owner https://imgur.com/a/UuAMZFg

Boker Kalashnikov SV:31

2nd owner - auto - Aus 8 lightly carried - black/black - flies open - 2nd owner https://imgur.com/a/ZnbMgQc
Honey Badger SV:30 Medium size with Wharncleaver blade shape - tan with 8Cr13MoV - 2nd plus owner - light carry - no box https://imgur.com/a/vIyLAVN

Ferrum Forge Mini Archbishop SV:49

9cr18mov Steel - factory edge - great condition except with small scratch on g10 on show side - no box - 2nd plus owner https://imgur.com/a/gZAEnQv

Civivi Altus SV:54

button lock - G10 and Nitro V - like new, with box and pouch - 2nd owner https://imgur.com/a/781ZxeM

Civivi Elementum SV:44

button lock - Micarta with stonewashed 14c28n - like new, no box or pouch - 2nd owner https://imgur.com/a/j7j5mAj

Kizer Quatch SV:49

New in box - first owner - not cut, carried, or disassembled - red linen Micarta with brass backspacer - n690 https://imgur.com/a/6rWLWAW

CJRB Feldspar SV:26

brown g10 and D2 - 2nd plus owner - like new in box https://imgur.com/a/jmki3ca
Spyderco Endura SV:65 great condition - tan aftermarket clip - sent to BGM by prior owner to get a regrind - this is super thin and slicey (but not used since regrind) - VG10 - no box or papers - 2nd owner https://imgur.com/a/3bLLk5I

Boker Castle Burg (Schloss Burg Castle) SV:161/TV:259

This is the Club model (slipjoint) - New in box - not carried, cut, or modified - comes with all original paperwork and box - Number 040/1133 (1133 is the year the castle was finished that the scales are from) - Information about the Castle Burg Series and stats for this knife: https://www.bokerusa.com/club-knife-castle-burg-113909 Photos: https://imgur.com/a/jwj8mId

BGS Customized Victorinox fixed blade SV:23

2nd owner - used by prior owner - still very sharp - stainless steel - custom tsukamaki wrap (the wraps alone are 49 on Etsy) - sheath included with ranger bands for easy deployment https://imgur.com/a/XyXhYCL
ToNife Gent-H Paring Knife SV:20 2nd owner - solid pairing knife with nice kydex sheath and cord - strong bolster construction - high polished blade - 5Cr15MoV - light use https://imgur.com/a/FJA21Qt

M_S_Barker (on IG) copper utility knife SV:23

2nd owner - handmade - skull on one side and stars on the other side - replaceable blade - great condition https://imgur.com/a/rDMxXPN

Brass DC Bottle Opener SV:41

comes with ACEdc pouch https://imgur.com/a/p3x9Yid

Top DZ Metal Toys Brass topB SV:104

lightly used brass fidget slider - only 50 made in this configuration - comes with OG box Photos: https://imgur.com/a/lamRiw8 and Video: https://imgur.com/a/DVTm9UM

Muyi Soundwave Nano SV:77

(stonewashed stainless steel with serial number 231) - new - first owner - comes with extra hardware, screwdriver, and stickers - I’m attaching a video of the same type of fidget, but made in brass (the one you are purchasing is the stainless steel version that is still sealed in the packaging from the manufacturer) Link to Etsy with additional detail on this item: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1290465714/muyi-cyber-mecha-sound-wave-nano-fidget Photos and Video: https://imgur.com/a/GjRjr7y

Porsche Carbon Fiber Pen SV:26

Rollerball carbon fiber pen (ink cartridge is replaceable) - not carried, but has been used to write a few post it notes https://imgur.com/a/xAAolJ8

5 Patches and 2 Pouches SV:26

all are new, unused - The pouches are small slips made of leather. The patches are all Velcro backed https://imgur.com/a/gSrQmRl

Buck 263 HiLine SV: Free if you let me know you want it and buy at least 3 other items

Like new - 2nd owner - no box https://imgur.com/a/XdOd4Uq
Thanks for looking!

State of residence: • Ties to other states (if applicable): New Jersey with ties to NY and MA

• URM? (Y/N): Y (mixed woman but identify as Black) • Undergraduate vibe: [Rural T20 that is an Ivy] • Undergraduate major(s)/minor(s): Biology and Society • Cumulative GPA: 3.43 • Science GPA: 3.32 • MCAT Score(s) (in order of attempts): 510 (only 1 attempt) • Gap years?: 1 • First application cycle? (If no, explain): Yes • Specialty of interest (if applicable): Radiology • Interest in rural health?: Yes 

Extracurricular Background:

• Research experience: 50 hrs over the sophomore summer in a gut microbe wet lab. • Clinical experience: 100 as a clinical volunteer at doctor’s office will be 1000+ in gap year • 50hrs virtual shadowing • 250 hrs non clinical cumulative (did Means for Wheels over sophomore summer, CrisText in freshman summer, Did volunteer work in Paper Airplanes and currently in ENGin as an English tutor volunteer) Will be 1000+ projected. • Was a Vice President in Public Relations in Clss Councils. 50 hrs in club. • Did four years in Biology Scholars Program. Approximately 200 hrs in Club. •2 pub (1 as editor and 1 a writer) in Healthcare magazine club. Approximately 50 hrs in club. • Did running for most of undergrad for 250 hrs •Did TAing in Gen Chem. 100 hrs. •LOR: 1 from ethics prof, 1 from biology prof, 1 from biochemisty prof, and 1 from physics prof for 2 years. •PS:Ok I guess. I trimmed all the red flag stuff. It does what it needs to do as I put my experiences and how it led me to medicine but I am not sure it is great outside of my good opener. 

School List:
Weill, University of Rochester, Dartmouth, Stony Brook, Jacobs School, NY Upstate, Suny Downstate, Albany, Zucker, Penn State, Rutgers RJW, Rutgers NJ, Hackensack, Cooper, Brown, Temple, EVMS, VCU, UPitt, NYMC, Maryland, Tufts, Georgetown, BU, Quinnpiac, Vermont, GWU, Meharry Medical College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Howard University

Once I was a child who had lofty dreams and goals as every child should, then my realist of a mother and I saw Coraline based on a book by Neil Gaiman. If you lived in a Hole in the Ground, the story is about a young girl with very boring and unengaging parents who move to a new house that is very ugly and deteriorating. After finding a key she discovers another place with people with buttons for eyes who seem nice, zany, and friendly. However, a cat warns Coraline about a dark secret that everything is not like it is. Coraline begins to ask why and keeps asking like most kids, "Why would someone who is kind be a dark or scary person?" until the other parents ask her to give up her eyes for buttons. This made me wonder now as an adult that if Coraline added all the pieces together shouldn't her parents learn the moral to be more engaging and aware as parents?
Then I came across some advice Neil Gaiman himself gave to a future writer of children's books, "If you want to write for children learn from the parents". I then thought to myself about authors and comic artists unlike him who have broken his rule time and time again and were successful like Bill Waterson of Calvin and Hobbs. I guess Mr. Gaiman is too much of a snob to read Calvin and Hobbs despite writing his own graphic novel Sandman.
Calvin has a wild imagination and is very thoughtful but do his parents love him for who he is...No, in some comics they criticize, joke, and backstab him at every turn thus why Hobbs is the most logical, honest, and more engaging in his adventures. One comic that is readable to many in the ADHD and Autism spectrum has Calvin in an Air Force jet blowing up his school where he is made to sit still, write endless homework, and is unprotected by Hobbs. Only to go to his school with a deep sigh of pain. Both he and Hobbs have become the poster boy and tiger for ADHD and has a message of not forcing children to have adult expectations. Then there's the man with the Ph.D. in not talking down to children and pure chaos Theodore Geisel or Dr. Seuss.
Many of his protagonists learn through mistakes and utter chaos or even how to cope with the chaos that they experience through a very odd idea. Something that would make Neil Gaiman's head explode is the film The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T and the tale of Pontaffel Pock which became an after-school special animated by Fritz Freeing of Loony Tunes fame. Some of his parental characters like Bart's mother Heloise don't realize something seems good until the situation is ridiculous and even dark. Even Mr. Zabladowski a friend of Bart is just someone doing a job without knowing the consequences or connecting the dots, "I'm just a guy who fixes sinks what can I do?".
The story of The 5,000 Fingers of Dr.T is a story of libertarianism and fascism through the eyes of a child and about how the ideologies no matter how good they sound to adults might sound silly to a child. Dr. Terwillker was even based on a real nightmare he had as a child about an evil teacher with a piano for 5,000 fingers to play on. Even though the film was a flop in the 50s during the Red Scare it's now a classic that still holds meaning for today's society. Any instrument or musician other than a piano went into a dungeon with the dungeon keeper sounding like Mc Carthy hearing, "Are you a piano player?". It also is a metaphor for America's xenophobia towards immigrants which he experienced as a German American.
When it comes to writing parents as an Asperger's person, I take into consideration that some kids grow up not having a parent or have each other's backs because they don't have parents like in my comic Struwwelkinder based on Hinrich Hoffman's Der Struwwelpeter. Because he has ODD, Uncomable Hair Syndrome, and loves his long nails Struwwelpeter does not want to have a parental figure like most kids because he hates being told to be prim and proper. It's also because his Volksmisk group and his choir at the orphanage are his families, he has to be both a good driver and an example for all the boys he teaches. This is why he gets the first Covid shot at the orphanage even though he hates doctors, so that he and others are safe. When I do write adult characters or parents I consider that parents were children and teens once with many problems and struggles.
I also consider that not all parents are good people like the couple behind Fathering Autism or The Duggars. Some parents exploit or use children as a pedestal or beating post. Even realistic parenting has downfalls in a child feeling depressed or downgrading their emotions and imaginations because they're not realistic enough for the parent. If you want to learn about how to write for children ask a child how they feel and how they can make the world better.

Hello everyone, Have some items up for trade
All the buyouts for the selected items are just because of the rules.
I am open to discussing trades on Steam or Discord: Ab1r#1680 , feel free to add me there to discuss.
Some of the tradeable items are listed as follows:
TradeLink: https://steamcommunity.com/tradeoffenew/?partner=201510509&token=5HbDjuiH
Item Condition Float B/O
★ Bowie Knife Tiger Tooth FN 0.01 303$
★ Hand Wraps Overprint FT 0.37 264$
★ Gut Knife Case Hardened MW 0.12 220$
★ Gut Knife Doppler Phase-2 FN 0.03 218$
★ Gut Knife Lore FT 0.27 210$
★ Huntsman Knife Black Laminate MW 0.12 205$
★ Gut Knife Doppler Phase-3 FN 195$
★ Moto Gloves Blood Pressure FT 0.37 187$
★ Nomad Knife Boreal Forest FT 0.19 186$
★ Stiletto Knife Boreal Forest BS 0.67 185$
★ Hand Wraps CAUTION! BS 0.52 172$
★ Survival Knife Night Stripe MW 0.13 170$
★ Falchion Knife Damascus Steel FT 0.21 150$
★ Shadow Daggers Lore WW 0.41 148$
★ Falchion Knife Freehand BS 0.45 140$
★ Moto Gloves Cool Mint BS 0.75 136$
★ Falchion Knife Ultraviolet FT 0.21 130$
★ Bowie Knife Bright Water BS 0.47 127$
★ Ursus Knife Urban Masked BS 0.71 126$
★ Paracord Knife Scorched FT 0.28 112$
★ Gut Knife Ultraviolet FT 0.16 111$
★ Moto Gloves Smoke Out BS 0.66 85$
★ Driver Gloves Rezan the Red WW 0.38 78$
★ Hand Wraps Desert Shamagh BS 0.48 66$
★ Hand Wraps Duct Tape BS 0.65 65$
★ Hand Wraps Constrictor BS 0.45 64$
★ Hydra Gloves Emerald FT 0.30 63$
★ Hydra Gloves Mangrove FT 0.37 52$
AWP Wildfire FN 0.06 168$
ST Desert Eagle Printstream MW 0.10 115$
M4A1-S Golden Coil MW 0.14 83$
UMP-45 Crime Scene FN 0.06 66$
USP-S Printstream FT 0.36 59$
AK-47 Asiimov MW 0.12 53$
AWP Chromatic Aberration FN 0.04 48$
M4A1-S Golden Coil FT 0.35 47$
ST AK-47 Redline FT 0.30 47$
M4A4 The Emperor MW 0.09 46$
ST M4A4 In Living Color MW 0.07 42$
M4A4 Neo-Noir FN 0.05 35$
AWP Hyper Beast FT 0.22 34$
Sir Bloody Darryl Royale The Professionals 21$
AK-47 Redline FT 0.27 19$
Glock-18 Bullet Queen MW 0.13 17$
P250 See Ya Later FN 0.06 12$
& more
Some prices might be outdated.
Note: I have new items coming and going daily and everything is not included in this list but everything is up for trade just send an offer!
TradeLink: https://steamcommunity.com/tradeoffenew/?partner=201510509&token=5HbDjuiH

Tl;dr at the bottom, but plz read 😀
So, I've hopped on the Run and Bun bandwagon, and I'm decently enjoying it. It's vanilla; it doesn't offer much new content in the wake of your Inclement Emeralds or Radical Reds, but you can palpably enjoy the effort that went into crafting its major battles...
And then there's the rest. Now, I'm not exactly sure what Run and Bun means (I think it's an edgy weed reference), but more than anything else, to me it reads like Run Back and Forth.
Mighty Arceus, most of this game is running back and forth to the Pokemon Center! I've just reached the Weather Center and am unsure if there's a convenience healing item soon to be earned, but I've already had enough. I'm dreading the sea routes. You might tell me to stock up on healing items, but then I'd run the risk of foregoing arbitrarily costly perks later on, right? Y'all know the feeling.
Besides venting into the void, I want to take this opportunity to have a constructive discussion about trainer battles: They're not bad! Run Back and Forth actually has many interestingly themed minor battles, but the great effort that also went into these encounters is overshadowed by their tedium.
So how can this be fixed? Mashing through trainers and running back and forth to the PC is a problematic gameplay loop that's been knotted into the Pokemon formula since forever. The mainline games sorta addressed the grind by marginalizing trainer battles as optional in S/V, and the Pokevial has been a helpful innovation on the community's part. But these don't fix the issue, they just mask it.
In my humble opinion, as someone who only has a surface knowledge of making hacks, I think here the sky's the limit. Let's consider a few fathomable ways in which the community could make trainer battles more engaging:
1) Encourage players to chain trainer victories with intrinsic rewards. With the possibility of a cookie, perhaps bonus EXP, players might push themselves to win 2 or 3 battles in a row instead of mindlessly returning to the PC after each encounter.
2) A win streak gimmick could even be expanded to endow more benefits. For instance, your Audino might automatically heal your party to at least half HP if you've chained 3 or more wins.
3) Have bespoke gimmicks for some routes. For instance, a dangerous cliffside route might only be safely traversed by rock, ground, and flying Pokemon; other types might automatically "slip and fall" (automatically faint) when out for consecutive turns.
There certainly would be coding hurdles to overcome, but I think with some hard work and creativity, the community could significantly elevate the moment-to-moment quality of their ROM hacks. The talented Pokemon super-fans among us have done an incredible job of pushing the series' formula toward its maximum potential, but it does feel like ROM hacks have peaked on the boss-rush side of the equation. Hopefully, we'll see the rest of the Pokemon formula get more love and attention in all the excellent hacks that are surely just over the horizon.
Tl;dr = Trainer battles and healing tedious. Come up with some new ways of doing things.
Thanks for reading and I'd love for this discussion to continue in the comments. Good luck in all your Gym battles to come (and may you find zen in repeatedly returning to Nurse Joy).

So I've been unable to find a list of total items needed to grind for upgrading every armor. I used this source site: https://rankedboost.com/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom/armor-upgrade-list/
And Manually added the items up, PLEASE check for any bad math or something I missed so I can update it accurately.
There appear to be 135 pieces, 32 of which cannot be upgraded.
Totaling: 78,280 Rupees.

+	A	B	C
1	Item	Count	# of Armor Pieces that need them
2	Acorn	30	3
3	Aerocuda Eyeball	42	3
4	Aerocuda Wing	63	3
5	Amber	665	10
6	Black Bokoblin Horn	15	3
7	Black Boss Bokoblin Horn	9	3
8	Black Hinox Horn	9	3
9	Black Horriblin Horn	15	3
10	Black Lizalfos Horn	15	3
11	Bladed Rhino Beetle	9	3
12	Blue Bokoblin Horn	15	3
13	Blue Boss Bokoblin Horn	9	3
14	Blue Horriblin Horn	15	3
15	Blue Lizalfos Horn	15	3
16	Blue Lizalfos Tail	15	3
17	Blue Moblin Horn	15	3
18	Blue Nightshade	24	3
19	Blue-maned Lynel Mace Horn	9	3
20	Blue-maned Lynel Saber Horn	9	3
21	Blue-White Frox Fang	15	3
22	Bokoblin Fang	9	3
23	Bokoblin Guts	45	12
24	Bokoblin Horn	15	3
25	Boss Bokoblin Fang	9	3
26	Boss Bokoblin Horn	9	3
27	Brightbloom Seed	90	3
28	Brightcap	15	3
29	Captain Construct I Horn	15	3
30	Captain Construct II Horn	15	3
31	Captain Construct III Horn	15	3
32	Chillfin Trout	30	3
33	Chillshroom	15	3
34	Chuchu Jelly	15	3
35	Cold Darner	15	3
36	Cool Saffina	9	3
37	Courser Bee Honey	15	3
38	Dark Clump	15	3
39	Dazzlefruit	60	4
40	Deep Firefly	39	6
41	Diamond	27	4
42	Dinraal's Claw	3	3
43	Dinraal's Horn	5	4
44	Dinraal's Scale	3	3
45	Electric Darner	15	3
46	Electric Keese Wing	15	3
47	Electric Lizalfos Horn	33	9
48	Electric Lizalfos Tail	54	6
49	Electric Saffina	24	3
50	Energetic Rhino Beetle	9	3
51	Farosh's Claw	6	3
52	Farosh's Horn	2	1
53	Farosh's Scale	6	3
54	Fire Fruit	9	3
55	Fire Keese Wing	45	6
56	Fire Like Stone	15	3
57	Fire-Breath Lizalfos Horn	45	9
58	Fire-Breath Lizalfos Tail	78	9
59	Fireproof Lizard	15	3
60	Flint	277	12
61	Frox Fang	9	3
62	Frox Fingernail	9	3
63	Frox Guts	18	4
64	Giant Brightbloom seed	105	3
65	Gibdo Bone	50	4
66	Gibdo Guts	5	1
67	Gibdo Wing	24	3
68	Gleeok Flame Horn	15	3
69	Gleeok Frost Horn	15	3
70	Gleeok Guts	18	4
71	Gleeok Thunder Horn	15	3
72	Gleeok Wing	36	3
73	Glowing Cave Fish	15	3
74	Hearty Bass	9	3
75	Hearty Lizard	5	1
76	Hightail Lizard	21	5
77	Hinox Guts	33	10
78	Hinox Toenail	15	3
79	Hinox Tooth	15	3
80	Horriblin Guts	39	6
81	Horriblin Horn	15	3
82	Hot-Footed Frog	30	3
83	Hyrule Bass	15	3
84	Ice Fruit	9	3
85	Ice Keese Wing	39	6
86	Ice Like Stone	15	3
87	Ice-Breath Lizalfos Horn	30	6
88	Ice-Breath Lizalfos Tail	54	6
89	Keese Eyeball	30	6
90	Keese Wing	18	6
91	Large Zonai Charge	114	9
92	Large Zonaite	220	17
93	Light Dragon's Horn	3	2
94	Light Dragon's Scale	3	2
95	Light Dragon's Talon	3	2
96	LIzalfos Tail	18	6
97	Lizalfos Talon	15	3
98	Luminous Stone	450	6
99	Lynel Guts	30	9
100	Lynel Hoof	15	3
101	Lynel Mace Horn	6	3
102	Lynel Saber Horn	6	3
103	Mighty Bananas	30	3
104	Mighty Thistle	9	3
105	Moblin Fang	15	3
106	Moblin Guts	15	6
107	Moblin Horn	9	3
108	Molduga Fin	5	1
109	Molduga Guts	23	5
110	Molduga Jaw	9	3
111	Naydra's Horn	2	1
112	Naydra's Scale	2	1
113	Obsidian Frox Fang	9	3
114	Octo Balloon	5	1
115	Octorok Eyeball	6	3
116	Octorok Tentacle	5	1
117	Opal	376	11
118	Puffshroom	9	3
119	Razorclaw Crab	9	3
120	Razorshroom	15	3
121	Red Chuchu Jelly	24	3
122	Ruby	136	11
123	Rushroom	39	5
124	Sapphire	121	8
125	Sealthfin Trout	30	3
126	Shard of Dinraal's Fang	3	3
127	Shard of Farosh's Fang	6	3
128	Shard of Farosh's Spike	45	3
129	Shard of Light Dragon's Fang	3	2
130	Shock Fruit	9	3
131	Shock Like Stone	15	3
132	Silent Princess	72	6
133	Silent Shroom	24	3
134	Silver Bokoblin Horn	15	3
135	Silver Bokoblin Horn	9	1
136	Silver Boss Bokoblin Horn	9	3
137	Silver Lizalfos Horn	9	1
138	Silver Lynel Mace Horn	9	1
139	Silver Lynel Saber Horn	9	1
140	Silver Moblin Horn	9	1
141	Sizzlefin Trout	30	3
142	Smotherwing Butterfly	9	3
143	Sneaky River Snail	15	3
144	Soldier Construct Horn	15	3
145	Soldier Construct II horn	15	3
146	Soldier Construct III Horn	15	3
147	Soldier Construct IV Horn	15	3
148	Star Fragment	94	23
149	Sticky Frog	15	3
150	Sticky Lizard	24	3
151	Summerwing Butterfly	15	3
152	Sundelion	75	4
153	Sunset Firefly	15	3
154	Sunshroom	15	3
155	Swift Carrot	10	2
156	Swift Violet	90	5
157	Thunderwing Butterfly	9	3
158	Topaz	121	8
159	Voltfin Trout	30	3
160	Voltfruit	15	3
161	Warm Darner	15	3
162	Warm Saffina	9	3
163	White Chuchu Jelly	15	3
164	White-maned Lynel Mace Horn	9	3
165	White-maned Lynel Saber Horn	9	3
166	Winterwing Butterfly	15	3
167	Yellow Chuchu Jelly	33	3
168	Zapshroom	15	3
169	Zonaite	135	11

^{Table formatting brought to you by ExcelToReddit}

I’ve been playing with the idea of upgrading my gpu and was wondering what else I would need to upgrade to make that jump. I’ve included a picture of my current pc build.

Public opinion of TriMet's decisions have been pretty mixed, mostly because TriMet's decisions are so convoluted that they can be a real challenge to understand. In reality, Metro and Portlanders need to have a bigger civic conversation about the future of TriMet, looking at the big picture. We have 3 looming existential crises of TriMet to be concerned about that are bigger than revenue dips, crime, or homeless people.
Civic leaders and the public are focused on a quick "fix" for TriMet revenue drops - even though we've seen this coming for a long time, it's very predictable that TriMet's Board of Directors acts at the last minute. Also, very predictably, TriMet's Board opted for a fare increase because over the previous 20 years that's been a go-to answer to every problem (except for that one time they killed Fareless Square). The politically appointed boards of TriMet and Metro lack the unique specialized knowledge of the issues I'll bring up here. If TriMet knows about these larger issues, they're obviously burring it from public view. In the short term, increasing fares is like putting fresh paint on a house that's on fire; in this situation, that paint is HIGHLY flammable.
First - fare hikes as a tactic is a brain-dead move. Just the most utterly stupid and self-sabotaging response to a looming budget shortfall. I'm dwelling on this because it illustrates their terrible decision-making, which is functional proof they have no idea what they're doing. Some of the core reasons for this:

• Increasing fares reduces utilization. Higher cost means fewer people ride, which will decrease the ridership revenue. It will also marginally increase the number of people who won't pay (funny story, some of those who don't pay actually can't afford to). TriMet isn't a monopoly or inelastic service, and plenty of other choices exist that didn't exist 20 years ago: an actual bike share, scooters, electric bikes, UbeLyft, shared vehicles, and more bike paths. Before the pandemic, it was common that I would bus into downtown for work and then take a Lyft home because it wasn't all that expensive, like $8 more than a bus ride - TriMet's price increases make a system that wasn't very competitive simply less compelling.
  
• Across Portland we need to go through a process of austerity and downsizing government. I absolutely support Wheeler putting a pause on rate increases, but for God's sake, we have far too much largesse in every layer of government. If you need to learn what I'm talking about, read my old article on Parks & Rec. So many divisions/agencies have doubled their staff while reducing service levels. It's bonkers. Cutting throats needs to be an imperative. This is because the great majority of public sector employees in Oregon and Portland are incompetent, redundant, and only exist because Oregon and Portland have been reluctant to use automation. And I don't mean the cutting-edge AI stuff, I'm talking about people who still handle business processes as if they're paper forms. I could tell so many stories from my professional experience - but you'll have to take my word for it for now: culling this bureaucracy is the right move, and until there's a significant downsizing, the political class is taking none of the financial crisis or cost of living situation seriously.
  
• TriMet's operating budget/revenue is primarily Payroll Taxes, not passenger revenue. About 20-30% of TriMet's budget comes from people buying fares, whereas the bulk of money TriMet needs comes from payroll taxes that businesses pay directly. Because of this, transit activists (including myself) have been proponents of increasing the payroll taxes marginally to make TriMet free for riders. Of course, fareless transit comes with a wide variety of new and different problems (that's an article for another time). Still, when you understand that only a sliver of revenue comes from fares, increasing the fare simply results in a marginal increase in revenue. The much bigger problem is going to businesses investing outside of Metro, and changing workforces that 1) won't pay payroll taxes reliably, 2) don't need people to go into the office. Think about the longer-term game here: is TriMet's board going to increase fares as utilization drops and payroll taxes continually diminish? (See my point above about how their default answer is "yes" because it's the only politically expedient answer.)
  

Reading comments about the fare hikes, most of the public thinks TriMet is dealing with a safety or utilization issue. Both of these are 100% true: soft-on-crime progressives have wholly obliterated the working class perception of TriMet safety - there are so many different ways this has happened, but we should thank so many people in the media and political class: Ana del Rocio's crying wolf about racism in fare inspections (and the media entertaining it), or Mike Schmidt deinstitutionalizing of the justice system, or Legislature's inability to act on the massive mental health crisis and drug addiction crisis in Oregon. No matter the underlying cause, we have a system where deranged violent mentally ill tweakers can be disruptive on the train, but working-class people face a $250 fine if they can't afford a $2.50 ($2.80) ticket. TriMet is less safe, especially the light rail and bus lines. We could hypothetically talk about various policy and infrastructure changes, such as turnstiles and security guards - but pragmatically, this won't do shit when our society has adopted a philosophy of transforming the urban core into an open-air insane asylum and opened the doors to the prisons. This safety issue is well beyond TriMet's scope, and even if there was consensus among TriMet and Metro to solve this, the entire justice system and Legislature is still broken.

Fare Hikes and Utilization is the Red Herring - Let's talk about TriMet's future

In reality, multiple design choices made decades ago set us up for failure. But we also have to thank brain-dead progressive lunatics and corrupt politicos who have steered our transit decision-making into the ground.
There are three specific issues I'm going to talk about, with each becoming more consequential and disastrous for TriMet:

• Hub and Spoke Design and the need for a redesign of the entire system to fit new commuting/transit patterns
  
• Portland Light Rail's short cars are a capacity problem not worth the price tag to fix
  
• Autonomous vehicles are here, and it's just going to get worse for TriMet
  

The strategic design of TriMet's system is broken, and it's been broken before.

If you looked at a map of TriMet's bus and rail system, you'd see a design pattern often referred to as a "Radial Design" or sometimes a "Hub And Spoke" design. The Hub and Spoke strategy is building our transit system around centralized locations to connect to other routes. For Portland the idea is to go downtown (or sometimes a Park and Ride) where you can connect to your next destination. This is why the majority of bus routes and all the max routes go downtown, to our Transit Mall and Pioneer Square.
Downtown planning was a smart idea in the 1960s when it was coupled with Main Street economic theory and prototype urban development zones - all of this wrapped up in the 1972 Downtown Plan policy. During these decades, the primary economic idea of urban revitalization was that downtown cores could provide better business climates and shopping districts that amplify economic activity synergistically. In other words, packing all the office jobs and luxury shopping in one area is good for workers, business, and civic planning.
All very smart ideas in yester-year, so TriMet became focused on serving the downtown business community myopically. This myopia became so paramount that it was considered illegitimate (actually taboo, borderline illegal) if you used a Park & Ride facility to park and NOT ride downtown. Amanda Fritz once explained that we couldn't expand Barbur Transit Center because that would result in students parking at Barbur Transit Center and riding the bus to PCC Sylvania. This view implies that TriMet exists only to service downtown workers, not the students, not the impoverished mom needing to go to a grocery store.
How does TriMet's hub and spoke design represent its purpose?
Portland's unspoken rule of transit philosophy is that jobs pay for the system (remember, business payroll taxes pay for most of it), so TriMet should be focused on serving people utilizing it for their job - employers pay for it, and they get value out of it. But this is both unspoken (never said aloud) and largely unobserved. The whole idea of TriMet as a social service to serve low-income people, to help impoverished people - well, those ideas were just lukewarm political rhetoric that is tossed out as soon as some Undesirable with tattered clothing reeking of cigarettes gets aboard - then Portlanders jump right back "this is for workers only!" Sadly, there hasn't ever been a public consensus of why TriMet exists because I could equally argue that TriMet's purpose isn't serving the working class; it's actually vehicle emissions reductions - but here, too, reality contradicts that this is the purpose for why we operate TriMet. TriMet's real purpose seems to be "Spend money on lofty capital projects" and if we want to be cynical about it, we can elaborate "…because large capital projects enable grift, embezzlement, and inflating property values for developers."
We haven't always depended upon a hub and spoke design. A great article from Jarrett Walker written in 2010 on his Human Transit blog explains in "The Power and Pleasure of Grids"

Why aren't all frequent networks grids? The competing impulse is the radial network impulse, which says: "We have one downtown. Everyone is going there, so just run everything to there." Most networks start out radial, but some later transition to more of a grid form, often with compromises in which a grid pattern of routes is distorted around downtown so that many parallel routes converge there. You can see this pattern in many cities, Portland for example. Many of the lines extending north and east out of the city center form elements of a grid, but converge on the downtown. Many other major routes (numbered in the 70s in Portland's system) do not go downtown, but instead complete the grid pattern. This balance between grid and radial patterns was carefully constructed in 1982, replacing an old network in which almost all routes went downtown.

Over the years the grid pattern was neglected in favor of a downtown-focused investment strategy. To a real degree it made practical sense: that's where the jobs were. But again, this is the presumption that TriMet and Mass Transit ought to service workers first, and there's not much consensus on that. But while we can't decide on TriMet's purpose, we can absolutely agree on one important thing: Downtown is dead.
No 5-star hotel is going to fix it. (As of writing, I'm not even convinced that this mafia-connected bamboozle of public fraud will open.) No "tough-on-crime" DA to replace Mike Schmidt, like Nathan Vasquez, will fix downtown. It's not JUST a crime problem: most of the problems we deal with today mirror the problems facing Portland in the 1960s, especially our inability to invest in good infrastructure people actually want to use. That's on top of crime, vandalism, and an unhealthy business ecosystem.
IF we want to maintain TriMet (and that's a big IF, for reasons I'll explain below), then it will be focused on something other than downtown. We need to move back to a grid-design transit system, as this is a much easier way to use transit to get around the city, no matter your destination. If TriMet continues to exist and operate fleets in 20-30 years, this is the only way it exists - because it will just be too inconvenient to ride downtown as a side quest to your destination, especially as we look at 10, 20, 30, 40 years from now.
Of course, we can only transform some parts of the transit infrastructure this way, and there are no uplifting and moving train tracks here. So light rail doesn't have a future in the grid system - but even without the grid system, light rail is doomed.

The fatal flaws of light rail in Portland.

I want to preface this by saying I like light rail as a strategy, it's not a bad system or bad civic investment. I could write another 5,000-word essay on why Seattle did an excellent job with light rail and the specific decisions Portland made wildly incorrectly. In transit advocacy the wacktavists inappropriately categorized skeptics of Portland's light rail as some soft bigotry - as if you're racist if you don't like Portland's light rail - even though, ironically, most light rail systems tend to be built for the preference of white culture and white workers, precisely what happened here in Portland and most cities (but this is all a story for another time).
Portland's light rail system has a capacity problem and has dealt with this capacity problem quietly for the last 20+ years. When you see the capacity problem, you can quickly understand this light rail system won't work in the future. All the other smart cities in the world that designed light rail realized they needed big long trains to move many people. Portland decided to limit the train car length to the size of our city blocks to save construction costs - and this has always been a fatal flaw.
Portland's highest capacity train car is our Type 5, according to Wikipedia it has a seating capacity of 72 and an overall capacity of 186 per train. Let's compare:

• Washington DC has 6-car trains capable of carrying 120 passengers per car, or 720 per train.
  
• Salt Lake City has a 4-car train capable of carrying 230 passengers per car, or 920 per train.
  
• Seattle's Link system has a 3 or 4-car train, each capable of carrying approximately 200 passengers per car, so 600 to 800 per train.
  

Portland's light rail lines have roughly the same people moving capacity as a single lane of a highway, maybe marginally more, maybe marginally less. These other cities have a light rail system that can move the same amount of people as an entire 3-lane highway.
You might suspect that Portland could simply run trains more frequently - but nah, that's impossible because the trains run through the central core of downtown Portland, and they're blocked by the real interfaces with road traffic and bottlenecks. TriMet/PBOT/Metro has offered rosy ideas that we could hypothetically run cars every 90 seconds, 2 minutes, 4 minutes, or 6 minutes (depending upon who you ask) - but these are garbage numbers invented out of thin air. For example, you could stand at Pioneer Courthouse Square at 4:50pm on a Wednesday in 2016 - there was a train opening doors to load passengers, and you could visibly see the next train at Pioneer Place Mall pulling into the station behind. Trains were running at approximately a 3 to 4 minute at peak - but on paper, TriMet will claim anything, as they don't give a shit about lying to the public. But the bigger problem is that trains were full. You might have to wait 90 minutes to find a train that offers a seat. And god forbid you had a bike.
I'm not making this very real capacity problem, Metro even acknowledges:

At the busiest hours of the day, 40 light rail trains must cross the river and traverse downtown – one train every 90 seconds. As the region grows and the demand for light rail increases, the region will need at least 64 MAX trains through downtown every hour, more than one train each minute. Our current system can't support that change.

Suppose you're silly enough to trust government propaganda. In that case, you can read the details of Metro study on this in 2019. If we assumed their numbers added up, it's just fucking impossible to run 62 trains per hour, because passenger loading and unloading can take a full minute (sometimes longer). So unless we want to apply substantial g-forces onto the passengers, the train isn't accelerating out of the stops fast enough. Not to mention how unreliable this whole system would be if a sole tweaker, bike rider, or person with a stroller held up the system for 2 minutes.
This is why the bottom line needs to be upfront about capacity - quoting Metro's study here:

Today MAX is limited to 2-car trains because of the length of downtown city blocks. A tunnel could allow for longer trains if the stations outside the downtown core are retrofitted. In the long-term, this could greatly increase MAX capacity.

Do you see that trick? Build a tunnel, yes - but the entire system has to be retrofitted. Literally every light rail station would need to be redesigned, the lines themselves recalculated for larger heavier trains - and extending platforms at Willow Creek might be simple enough, but how in the living fuck is Metro going to afford to expand the Zoo stop? Doubling the size of that platform would cost $500 million alone.
If the city weren't full of cheap dipshits, we would have elevated or buried our light rail lines in the 1980s or 90s, enabling longer train cars to run. Yes, we all knew back then that it was the best practice not to have light rail running on the street - it's less safe, less reliable, runs slower, and limits train car size. Oops.
Just to keep TriMet's own bullshit inflated utopian vision, it would mean spending another billion dollars just to unfuck downtown, bypass an aging bridge, and potentially allow a marginally higher volume of trains - which again is a band-aid on a mortal wound.
The real buried lede is that to add extra train cars means retrofitting all the stops in the system - that's tens of billions of dollars. You can argue costs, but Metro knows we need to do this. It means shutting down the system for a year or years while construction and retrofits happen. It's fucking outrageous. Is this system worth of people per line worth 20, 30, or 40 billion dollars? Fuck no, it ain't. Again, if we had a raging metropolis of industry and commerce downtown, we could reasonably entertain the idea for a moment - but we don't and never will again.
Some folks might argue that if we kill off the light rail system we'd lose out on all those lucrative Transit Oriented Developments. Originally the public was told that Transit Oriented Development strategy would cause a massive infusion of private investment because the light rail was so damn lucrative and desirable for Richard Florida's Creative Class. Turns out the Creative Class is now called today the Laptop Class, and they don't give a flying fuck about street cars, light rail, or walking scores - because most can't be bothered to put pants on during their "commute" from bed to desk. TOD was all a fantasy illusion from the beginning, as multiple studies about Portland commuters showed that college-educated white folks riding Max were equally comfortable riding their bike as a substitute for the same commute. All of these billions of dollars was to accommodate white fare-weather bikers. So here's my hot take on transit: pave over the rail lines and put in bike lanes, and boy, then you'd have a bike system to give folks like Maus a hardon. But of course, Bike Portland would complain because their focus isn't biking; they exist only to favor all poorly thought utopian transit ideas.
Another group of Max/TOD advocates would claim that TOD is better for disabled and impoverished people. And yeah, there's truth there, but see my entire argument above about the Hub & Spoke design of TriMet being the antithesis of transit as a social service. If you believe that TriMet should serve low-income people, you must advocate for a bus-centric grid design.
But even if you're a die-hard believer in light rail - there's another inevitable reality coming that is the nail in the coffin.

Autonomous vehicles will replace mass transit faster than the automobile replaced the horse.

I work in advanced technology, and the thing about tech is that the public and politicians deny that it's going to be there until the majority of the public finally experiences it. You could say this about personal computers, internet, cloud compute, electric cars, smartphones, distributed ledger (cryptocurrency), AI, and driverless vehicles.
Schrodinger's technology doesn't exist until it's measured in an Apple store or your mother asks you for tech support.
No one thought AI was really real until ChatGPT did their kid's homework, and today most people are coming to terms with the fact that ChatGPT 3.5 could do most people's jobs. And that's not even the most advanced AI, that's the freeware put out by Microsoft, they have paywalls to access the real deal.
In 2018 I rode in my colleague's Tesla in self-driving mode from downtown Portland to Top Golf in Hillsboro. We started our journey at the surface parking lot on the west side of the Morrison Bridge. He used his phone to tell the car to pull out of the parking spot and to pick us up. Then he gave the car the address, and it drove us the entire way without any human input necessary. The only time he provided feedback was to touch the turn signal to pass a slow car on the highway. People think self-driving isn't here - but it is - and it's gotten exponentially better and will continue to do so. People will complain and moan about idealized, utopian, pedantic "level 5" full self-driving, how none of it exists or could exist, as a Tesla passes them on the road and the driver is half asleep.
Of course, Portland and every major city have also thought deeply about self-driving technology, and a few places have implemented self-driving solutions - but so far, none of these are really at scale. Though it will be a short time before cost-conscious cities go all-in.
TriMet kicked around the idea of using an autonomous bus for a leg of the trip of the Southwest Corridor project, connecting a segment of the light rail route to the community college. It was bafflingly stupid and short-sighted to think they could use it in this niche application but that it wouldn't open the floodgates for a hundred different applications that eviscerate TriMet's labor model. The simplest example of autonomous operation would be to operate the light rail systems - because they don't make turns, all we need is an AI vision service to slam on the breaks if necessary - that technology has existed for 20+ years. We could retrofit the entire train system in about 3 to 6 months - replace every Max operator with a security guard, and maybe people would ride the Max again? But I digress.
Let's speculate about the far-future, some 5, 10, or 20 years from now: your transit options will expand significantly. The cost will decrease considerably for services using automated vehicles.
You'll look at your options as:

• Drive to work: fastest, takes $100+ worth of gas a month, but you also need $50+ for insurance and $500+ for the monthly car payment, plus those surprise maintenance and broken windows. Also, do you pay for parking? Pick a number for how much it costs to drive your personally owned and manually operated vehicle to work each month.
  
• Autonomous vehicle service: price TBA, but think of how much an Uber costs when you don't have to pay the driver, you don't have to pay for gas. An Uber that runs for $20 today would likely be $10 or less. So, to and from work 20 times a month, $200. $300? Ok, let's just say it's $400 a month. It's still all cheaper than owning a car and driving it to work. No parking fees, and it picks you up quickly enough that it's not a nuisance.
  
• Mass Transit: $150 per month, but ugghhh it's slow, it smells like piss, a guy jacked off in your hair, and you can't schedule a meeting for the first 30 minutes of your anticipated workday in case you miss a connection - and it breaks so often the government actively hides the reliability data from the public and media.
  

Just a few years into this future we'll see a brand new trend, one that already exists: a shared autonomous vehicle like a privately operated bus. For example, Uber Bus - it already exists as a commuter option in some cities, it's just not autonomous yet. The significant benefit of an autonomous bus is that these shared vehicles will utilize HOV lanes very commonly, and commuting in an autonomous vehicle will be as fast as driving to work in your manually operated car while also being less expensive.
Simultaneously automobile accidents in autonomous vehicles will be virtually non-existent, and insurance companies will start to increase prices on vehicles that lack AI/smart assisted safety driving features. Public leaders will see the value of creating lanes of traffic on highways dedicated explicitly to autonomous vehicles so that they can drive at much higher speeds than manually operated traffic. Oregon won't lead the way here, but wait until Texas or one of the Crazy States greenlights a speed limit differential, and self-driving vehicles have a speed limit of 90, 120, or 150 miles per hour. You might think "accidents would be terrible and deadly" but there will be fewer accidents in the autonomous lane than in manual lanes. At this point, it will be WAY faster to take an autonomous vehicle to your work.
Purchasing power of consumers will decrease while the cost of vehicles will increase (especially autonomous vehicles), making ownership of any vehicle less likely. Frankly, the great majority of people won't know how to drive and will never learn to - just like how young people today don't know how to use manual transmission. However, fleets of autonomous vehicles owned by companies like Tesla, Uber, and Lyft will benefit from scale and keep their autonomous bus fleets operating at low cost. This will lead to a trend where fewer and fewer people will own an automobile, and fewer people even bother learning how to drive or paying the enormous insurance cost.... while also depending upon automobiles more than we do today.
Eventually, in the distant future, manually driven vehicles will be prohibited in urban areas as some reckless relic from a bygone era.
Cities and public bodies don't have to be cut out of this system if they act responsibly. For example, cities could start a data brokering exchange where commuters provide their commuting data (i.e., pick-up point, destination, arrival time). The government uses either a privatized fleet or a publicly owned fleet of autonomous vehicles to move as many people as possible as often as possible. Sort of a publicly run car-pool list - or a hyper-responsive bus fleet that runs for the exact passengers going to exact locations. A big problem companies like Uber, Lyft, and Tesla will have is that they'll lack market saturation to optimize commuting routes - they'll be able to win unique rides, but the best way they can achieve the lowest cost service model is these super predictable and timely commuter riders. The more data points and riders, the more optimization they can achieve. These companies can look at the data for as many people as possible and bid for as many routes as possible - optimizing for convenience, time, energy usage, emissions, etc. The public will voluntarily participate if this is optimized to get the cheapest ride possible. If the government doesn't do this, the private sector will eventually.
As a parallel, no one today even considers how Metro runs garbage collection. No one cares. And if you didn't like Metro's trash service, if you needed a better service for unique needs, you go procure that on your own. Likewise, you wouldn't care about the quality of the commuting trip as long as it's up to some minimal standards of your class expectations, it's reliable, nearly as quick as driving your own vehicle, and it seems reasonably affordable.
If the public ran this data exchange, fees could subsidize lower-income riders. This is a theory on what a TriMet like system or mass transit system could look like in a primarily autonomous world where most people don't own their own or drive an automobile.
This system would be far from perfect, opening up all sorts of problems around mobility. However, it's hard to see how autonomous vehicles will not obliterate the value proposition of mass transit.

Another narrative on the same story.

As the working class moves to autonomous vehicles, transit agencies will collect fewer and fewer fares - prices and taxes will rise, creating a cycle of failure. As a result, some cities will make buses self-driving to cut costs. It could start with Tokyo, Shanghai, Oslo, et al. Again, it's unlikely that Portland or Oregon will be the first movers on this, but when cities start laying off hundreds of mass transit operators and cutting fares to practically nothing, there will be substantial public pressure to mimic locally. It will be inhumane, it will be illiberal, to make those impoverished bus-riding single mothers pay premiums. As most of the fleet becomes autonomous, responsive, and disconnected from labor costs, the next question arises: why do we still operate bus routes? Why big buses instead of smaller and nimble vehicles?
This alternative story/perspective leads to the same outcome: we figure out where people are going and when they need to get there - then dispatch the appropriate amount of vehicles to move that exact number of people as efficiently as possible.
But our local government getting its act together on all this is outside the world of possibility.
In a practical sense, we're going to see history repeat itself. Portland's mass transit history is about private and public entities over-extending themselves, getting too deep in debt on a flawed and outdated idea. As a result, the system collapses into consolidation or liquidation. Following this historical pattern, TriMet/Metro won't respond to changing conditions fast enough, and laughably stupid ideas like cranking up taxes or increasing ridership fares will continue to be the only option until the media finally acknowledges these groups are insolvent. I just hope we don't spend tens of billions of dollars propping up this zombie system before we can soberly realize that we made some mistakes and these vanity-laden projects 20 and 30 years ago need to die.
You see, the biggest flaw with TriMet isn't the design, it needs to be outpaced by technology, it's that the people making decisions at TriMet and Metro are going to make the politically expedient decisions, not the right decisions. They won't redesign, and they won't leverage technology for cost savings, so this charade will just get going along until the media simply declares they're insolvent.
Back to fares for a second - the media happily reprints TriMet's horseshit take about "The higher fares will bring in an estimated $4.9 million in annual revenue starting next year, the report says." Just sort of amazing to me there's no skepticism about this number - but most spectacular is no media considerations about alternative solutions. For example, I could tell TriMet how to save $9,548,091 next year - a useless program primarily utilized by white middle-class folks who own alternative methods of transport - and this would inconvenience way less transit-dependent people than raising fares. But, that's off the table - we're not even developing a decision matrix for when we kill the blackhole of money known as WES.

Chapter 1
The Villager’s Warning
In the North near the tempestuous mountains and the groves of the Relum trees, which grow relum, which are like sweet pears, was a prosperous village called “ Alestra”. Alestra is a medium-sized village known for its cloying relums and its soft and crumbly soil perfect for the trees and gardens. They lived a humble and healthy life supplying themselves with veggies and meat from the boars they hunted. The water from Rivenile was the source of their agricultural success and survival. The sound of little children having fun exploring the fields of grain while their family works diligently on the farms. Most of the children spend their time outside either helping with their family's farm or playing near the grains and on the trees playing fun games. All except one particular boy who will spend his days indoors writing stories and reading about the fascinating creatures he wishes to discover. His name was Aran Yearwood, a 12-year-old with red hair living with his parents who helped the village by transporting their food and veggies to nearby villages. Aran eagerly followed his father, perpetually saying “Father, can I hear the story about the Rift Creators of the Coliseum again please?”. The father replied, “ How about tonight when your mother is back for dinner, is that alright?”. “ Yes Father,” said Aran. Aran rushed to his room whose walls were covered with sheets of drawings and a portrait of his family right in the center of his room. His desk was piled with books and maps slightly torn and dirty. His bed was big enough for him, and a little chest lay at the end of the bed to store the items he cherished. Aran sat on his chair and picked up a book labeled “ Creatures of the Night” and he sat on his bed and read from where he began. Meanwhile, the Father went near his stable and put the ponderous goods on the wagon when he smelled a putrid stench of a rotting corpse. The father looked around to find the smell and discovered a Villager riding a horse carrying a wagon with numerous dead bodies disfigured and all missing body parts. “ What happened to them!?” stuttered the father in shock. “ To be honest I don’t know?” said the villager. “It might be a wolf or a bear,” said the villager. “That can’t be bears since it's winter,” said the father. “We might have to stop shipment to other villages,” said the villager. “Why, though, it's only a few animals we can take care of,” said the father. “Well, that depends if the mayor agrees,” the villager says. “Shouldn’t we mail this to animal control, maybe they can control these beasts,” the father said. “Already mailed it to them, should be arriving in a few weeks or so”. The villager rode his horse to the village square leaving the father worried. When it was nightfall the family was at the dinner table eating their food. They had a hot and warm meat pie filled with lamb and pork all mixed with gravy with a side of pan-fried spinach. After their dinner, Aran rushed towards his room with his father following him. “ Are you gonna tell me the story Father?” asked Aran. “ Alright, hold your patience,” said the father as he sat down on the bed. “ The story of the ..colosseum begins with the Greater wills, gods who judge the realms and serve as the way of evolution”. “When these gods see someone they love they give birth to the demigods. “ Each demigod ruled the realms and served as a ruler for their realms,” asked the Father. “ They had abilities like gravity, time, War, pestilence, and even death, while others had less powerful abilities like sand,” said the father. “ Each of the demigods is known to be the best and the most revered in their worlds.,” said the father in a Joyous mood. '' “All had everything they could need in their lives, but some wanted more”. The father looked outside the dark knight. “ Well it's getting late. The father replied with a tired tone “ Sleep well Aran”. “Can you finish the story tomorrow? " asked Aran, resting his head on the pillow. “Of course,” said the father. Aran closed his eyes and dreamed of himself in the stars, seeing the planets go by as he feels the
5 years later
Aran who was now 17 got off his bed with his room no longer having the drawings he used to have and the desk he still had an accumulation of books. He passed his parent's room and went into the kitchen to make his parents some breakfast. Aran's parents were always tired of the number of resources needed for other villages and Aran’s mother sprained her knee when running back to the village. Aran grabbed a few thick pork slices and chopped them to put on the ardent sizzling pan. Aran proceeded to crack a few eggs, mix them with scallions, and place them on the pan with the pork bits until they were cooked well. The sound of the sizzling food awoke the father as he peeked through the kitchen to see his son cook. The father asks” Son it's still dark outside why are you up this early”. “I wanted to give you something to eat while I’m gone with the delivery for the next town,” said Aran. “ Alone, you can’t be alone when Wendigos are out on the road”. “ Let me come and help you deliver the food..” but as the father said that he was cut off and the Aron said, “ It's alright I brought a knife with me and I’ll be cautious”. Aran exited the house and went near the stable to ride his horse carrying the fruits and vegetables on his side. Aran rode his horse down the road to the village square. The village square had big houses with markets surrounding the houses and farms surrounding the Relum trees growing ever so long behind the village. The villagers look depleted and worn out. Aran rode his horse to the other houses to ask for resources and food they offered them all saying “ Tell Newberry to stay strong”. After Aran was finished taking the villager's supplies for Newberry he went to the village chief to gather his resources. He knocked on the door of the Mayor's house and saw him with a pile of water buckets, a few bags of gold, and Packs of wood. “ Ah Aran, please put this on your cart and tell Newberry to stay safe and have hope”. “Of course chief,” said Aran. Aran rode his horse to the village gate next to the tower post. When Aran was next to the post a Knight went outside of the tower replying “ What is your business of leaving Alestra '' . “ I’m transporting my family’s food to the village of Newberry, “ said Aran. “ The village of Newberry isn't doing well since the Wendigos raided them, they're going to need those supplies” said the knight. Aran was permitted to leave Alestera and Aran continued his journey on the path. Aran passed through from a few corpses to an abundance of them until Aran saw the village. The village was burned and ravaged with dark smoke covering the sky and the stench of burning flesh still in the air. Aran rushed to the village to see if anybody survived but found none survived. When Aran was about to leave he saw smoke coming out of the forest, Aran rode his horse swiftly and came to the source of the fire. He saw a few villagers and a small number of children near the fire scared and tired from the raid. “ Are you the villagers of Newberry?” asked Aran. “ We used to be until the Wendigos attacked,” said an elderly lady. Aran with a shocked look on his face asked: “ What about the knights”. “ Most of them died fighting while some died running,” said the old man next to the lady. “ Some more knights tried to help but those insidious beasts forestalled ”. Aran was worried for the villagers of Newberry and shouted“ I have resources from the town of Alestra and we have come for your help!!!”. All the villagers looked at Aran as he continued to shout “ Please gather any resources you need and help yourself to the food you need to survive with!!!”. The Villagers filled with hope and joy rushed to the cart and gathered all the supplies. They were all eating and drinking and covering themselves with blankets making them feel just a little bit safer. “ We don’t know how to thank you, young sir,” said a man with his children next to him. “ Please sir you don’t have to do anything, but if you and the others need help we're just a few miles away south,” said Aran. Aran left with an empty cart and a feeling of beatitude when he saw the villagers of Newberry full of bliss and hope. Halfway through his trip back to his village the horse instantaneously stopped and nearly threw Aran off the horse. “ Stay here Becky,” said Aran smoothly. He jumped off the horse and looked all around to see if anything would jump out and attack him. Suddenly he heard a large screeching sound mixed with screeching. He heard rustling and sticks being broken. He heard the noise again except it was teeth chattering and the sound of a loud sharp horn was closer. “ We have to go, Becky,” said Aran urgently as he jumped on his horse and rode as fast as he could. Aran heard the sound come closer and faster towards him. Aran had the sudden urge to stop the horse midway. Aran stopped his horse and soon after a dark wendigo jumped out in front of him and crashed near some trees and was unconscious for a few seconds. Aran used that time to ride away while horrified by that chase. The wendigo screeched in anger as Aran was out of its sight. Aran returned to the village sweaty and scared and opened the doors only to be on his knees. The father rushed up to him with the mother following him slowly. “ Aran what happened to you?!” asked the father in a frightened manner. “I escaped from a wendigo,” said Aran panting. “ How in this world did you survive?!” asked the father. “ Raranold, let the Aran rest now,” said the mother. “ Aran is traumatized enough for today, we can ask when he is ready but for now let him sleep and rest”. The father took a deep breath and said to Aran “ You can go upstairs and we’ll cook something for you, is that okay ''. “That's okay,” Aran replied. Aran went upstairs to his room and went to his bed to sit. Aran heard voices from downstairs wanting to hear what his parents were talking about. Aran opened the door quietly, walked on the stairs sneakily, and peered through the kitchen to hear what they were saying. “ 7 people died on that road and were eaten, there is no way our son could survive one of their attacks,” said Raranold. “ I think it's time for us to leave the village”. “But where will we go, Raranold,” asked the mother. “ We could go to the city of Elistar and maybe there we can be safe,” said the father. “I don’t know what to do now Elizabeth”. “ We can leave tomorrow when we pack all our stuff and leave while we still have light, and maybe we can reach an inn,” said Elizabeth. “ But what about Aran, how will he handle this?” asked Raranold. “He might be upset about it but I’m sure he’ll love the big city and all its fancy buildings and all the new stuff he’ll like”. “ Plus we have a good amount of money to survive in the city”. “ Now then, we should be cooking dinner at Raranold”. “ Please pass me the mushrooms on your right, we're going to be making some skewers” Aran walked to his room quietly shocked by the fact that he will move from the village he grew up in. Aran looked out the window gazing at the village thinking about how he will never get used to the city. Aran suddenly saw something big and tall in the bushes. It was the same wendigo that was chasing him through the path. Aran quickly fell over in terror and when he got back up, the wendigo was suddenly gone in an instant. “ Oh lords,” said Aran. The wendigo rushed deep into the forests crossing through the dry trees and the murky puddles towards an abandoned camp. The abandoned camp was full of wendigos either resting or fighting each other for food. Near the big stump sat a tall wendigo with various skulls and aches full of bottles and ashes on his sides. The wendigo held a staff with a large skull. The wendigo went towards the large wendigo and shrieked “ Shouldn’t we attack the village now”. The tall Wendigo stood up and said “ We attack when the sun is dim”. They heard horses coming through the road with knights packed with weapons passing by them. The tall Wendigo screamed in the sky letting every Wendigo know that they would attack the village of Alestra.

Lots of New Inventory, figured i’d post again
All of these are up for the cheapest price on Discogs (for their condition, sometimes by considerable amounts) and are CHEAPER here than I have them there. Feel free to try and price match me with any legit sellers I am flexible and truly believe these are all great deals. Happy to work out bundle deals on 3+ depending on the purchase amount.
Shipping is $6 to the US, No matter the size of the order! International DM for rate. If you want more specifics on what pressing it is and what not here is the link to my Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/selle66Records/profile
The Acacia Strain - 'C' (7' Single, Limited, White w/ Olive Green Splatter) NM/NM - $28
Agnostic Front - United Blood (7' EP, 2009 Reissue, Clear) NM/NM - $15
Archspire - Bleed the Future (Original Cassette) NM/NM - $28
Arkaik - Nemethia (LP, Blue and Gold Swirl) NM/NM - $42
Asobi Seksu - Fluorescence (LP, Limited Pink) NM/VG+ - $10
Babymetal - Metal Resistance - The One- (Limited ED Boxset with CD and Bluray) VG+/VG+ - $35
Bauhaus - Burning from the Inside (LP, Blue, Reissue) VG+/VG+ - $17
Beatles - Yesterday and Today (1983 Reissue) G+/VG - $12
Beatles - Revolver (1983 Reissue, IN SHRINK) VG+/NM - $25
Childish Gambino - Because The Internet (Pink Target Exclusive) NM/VG+ - $35
Childish Gambino - Awaken, My Love! (Blue Walmart Exclusive) NM/VG+ - $18
Courtney Bartnett - Things Take Time (LP, Blue) NM/VG+ - $12
The Cure - Faith (RSD Limited Numbered Gray vinyl) NM/NM - $80
Dance With The Dead - Loved to Death (LP, Clear, Repress) NM/NM - $55
David Gilmour - David Gilmour (LP, Promo, OG) G+/VG+ - $10
DIIV - Oshin (LP, Purple, Limited Reissue) NM/VG+ - $32
Dyscarnate - With all their might (LP, Bronze) VG+/VG+ - $18
Echo & The Bunnymen - Bedbugs and Ballyhoo (12' Maxi, OG) VG+/VG+ - $5
Enslaved - Heimdal (LP, limited Black white marble, sealed) - M/M $30
Fit for an Autopsy - Oh what the future holds (LP, Blue Green Swirl with Pink Black Splatter, Sealed) M/M - $15
Fit for an Autopsy - Hellbound (LP, Limited, Bronze) - $30
Genghis Tron - Board up the House (LP, One etched Side, original) VG/VG+ - $18
George Clanton - Slide (LP, 2nd Press, Black with Blue Swirl) VG+/VG+ - $28
Gloom Influx - Twilight (Limited, Purple) NM/NM - $30
Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - L.A.M.F (Lost 77' Mixes) (LP, Reissue, Limited Edition, Pink and black) NM/NM - $35
Hour of Penance - Paradogma (LP, Yellow) NM/NM - $32
J Dilla - Donuts (2x12, 2016 10th anniversary edition) VG+/VG+ - $37
John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band - Plastic Ono Band (2021 Reissue) VG+/VG+ - $20
Kanye West - The College Dropout (Most recent reissue) NM/VG+ - $15
Kraut - An Adjustment to Society (Red Reissue) G+/G+ - $10
Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over The Country Club (Black Gatefold) NM/VG+ - $15
1985 Walt Disneys Fantasia - (2xLP, Gatefold) VG+/VG+ - $8
Michael Jackson - Got to be There (Original with hype sticker) G+/VG+ - $8
MICROCHIP TERROR - Illegal Experiments (LP, White red splatter) - $30
Modern Baseball - You’re Gonna Miss it All (Yellow) NM/NM - $20
Nails - You Will Never Be One of Us (Green Casette) VG+/VG+ - $10
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine (180gm reissue) NM/VG+ - $18
NOFX - Pods and Gods (7’ EP Orange) NM/VG - $5
Pearl Jam Christmas 1998 (7’ promo) VG/VG+ - $25
Pearl Jam - Someday at Christmas (7’) VG+/VG+ -$8
Pearl Jam 2002 Annual Vinyl Single (7’ Promo) -$4
Pearl Jam - Christmas 1999 (7) G+/VG+ -$10
Primus - Sailing the Seas of Cheese (LP, Reissue, 200G) VG+/VG - $28
Rings of Saturn - Gidim (Cassette, Purple, sealed) M/M - $28
Rush - Hemispheres (LP, Original, PRC) VG+/VG+ - $18
Rush 2112 (LP, early reissue, gatefold) VG (lower end)/VG+ - $9
Scour - Black (10’ Marbled) M/NM - $23
Sematary Grave Man - Butcher House (CD) NM/VG+ - $80
Sick of it All - Death to Tyrants (LP, tricolored, limited 2014 reissue) VG+/VG+ - $21
Sick of it All - Last Act of Defiance (LP, limited, clear +CD) NM/VG+ - $18
Slipknot - Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses (2xlp, black, rare first press) NM/VG - $120 ($120 UNDER MEDIAN)
Soundgarden - Superunkown (Original US Clear) NM/VG - $225
Spelling - The Turning Wheel (2LP Green /300) - NM/VG+ - $50
Steely Dan - Greatest Hits (Canadian Yellow 70’s pressing) VG/G+ - $15
Sylvester - Someone Like You (original 12', keith harring art) NM/NM - $16
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Runaway Girls (7’ Blue) VG+/VG - $15
Weather Report - Heavy Weather (Music on Vinyl Reissue, 180g) NM/NM - $22
Within Destruction - Deathwish (LP, Red) VG+/VG+ - $35

I'm mostly looking to trade for games on my list of retro games, but there are also a few other games and accessories listed below. I am not particularly interested in collector's quality items. In fact, I'd prefer loose carts/discs and would even be open to heavily scratched or non-working games as well.
All games have been tested as best as I can, except where noted, and are working unless otherwise stated.
I am also selling everything over on gamesale. Post
If you have one of the games on my Retro Want list, I may be interested in buying it as well if I do not have anything of interest to you and it's reasonably priced.
Pictures:
Nintendo games
All other games
Hardware and accessories

Have:

PS5/PS4:
NBA 2K21 Jumpstart bundle (no game, just dlc)
Horizon Zero Dawn
Xbox One/Series:
Terminator Resistance (its a euro version but works on US consoles without issue)
Switch:
Dobe grip with red and blue sticks
PowerA Fusion Pro controller
Puyo Puyo Tetris
Wonderful 101
3/DS:
Transformers Dark of the moon (loose)
Gamecube:
Animal Crossing (loose)
PS1:
Oddworld Abe's Oddysee (GH)
Hardware/Misc:
Razer Kishi telescopic phone controller (usb-c)
My Arcade NES Classic controllers
Insignia NES/SNES Classic controller extension cables (pack of 2) (NIB)
Amiibos - Cyrus and Reese
NESPi4 Case w/ all accessories (no pi)
NESPi Case+ w/ power adpater (no pi)

Want:

Retro:
Spiderman Web of Fire (32x)
Panzer Dragoon Saga (SS)
Castlevania Legends (GB)
Wario Land 4 (GBA)
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow (NDS)
Castlevania Order of Ecclesia (NDS)
Castlevania Portrait of Ruin (NDS)
Contra 4 (NDS)
Additional Wants:
Minecraft Dungeons (Switch)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredders Revenge (Switch)
Factorio (Steam)
Everspace 2 (Steam)
Rimworld (Steam)
Vestaria Saga 1&2 (Steam)
Final Fantasy 1-6 pixel remaster (Steam)
Castlevania Advance Collection (Steam)
Bright Memory Infinite (Steam)

All games have been tested as best as I can, except where noted, and are working unless otherwise stated. Games vary in condition and completeness, so please take a look at the pictures I have included. If you would like more detailed pictures of a particular game, feel free to ask. Prices do not include shipping.
Prices are negotiable and feel free to make me an offer on multiple items as well. Looking for Paypal or Steam credit. If you would like to try and work a trade, see my list here.
Pictures:
Nintendo Games
All other Games
Hardware and accessories

Have:

PS5/PS4:
NBA 2K21 Jumpstart bundle (no game, just dlc) - free just ask for the code
Horizon Zero Dawn - $5
Xbox One/Series:
Terminator Resistance (its a euro version but works on US consoles without issue) - $15
Switch:
Dobe grip with red and blue sticks - $20
PowerA Fusion Pro controller - $60
Puyo Puyo Tetris - $10
Wonderful 101 - $15
3/DS:
Transformers Dark of the moon (loose) - $1
Gamecube:
Animal Crossing (loose) - $30
PS1:
Oddworld Abe's Oddysee (GH) - $7
Hardware/Misc:
Razer Kishi telescopic phone controller (usb-c) - $30
My Arcade NES Classic controllers - $2
Insignia NES/SNES Classic controller extension cables (pack of 2) (NIB) - $2
Amiibos - Cyrus, and Reese - $2 ea
NESPi4 Case w/ all accessories (no pi) $25
NESPi Case+ w/ power adapter (no pi) $20

He legit looked like a tattooed Santa with a straw hat. The ferret not only was on a leash, but he also had a little red bowtie on him. I didn't interact with him myself but I saw a kid and their mother ask if the ferret bites and they got a photo with the ferret. It was nice entertainment as I sat eating lunch outdoors. Wholesome.

I need some opinions on this situation or my head is going to explode. During briefing for a long haul red eye flight the lead instructed the crew to use their required duty item of a flashlight during the flight to check seatbelt compliance. Lighting was enough during this flight to check without but never have I ever in my years of flying before working for an airline, or at any of my previous 3 airlines have I seen someone use their flashlight to shine it on passengers to check for seatbelt compliance during the flight let alone ask / require the crew to especially if they can see in the cabin without it 💀 thoughts, feelings, opinions? 🙈

American Loyalist Troops 1775–84 is a long, boring and dry compilation of every known unit of Loyalist troops in the war and whether they used red, green or blue coats. The Osprey veteran René Chartrand packs as much information as he could find to fill this 48 pages Man-at-Arms book. The resut is an endless list of unit names with a stub of one or two short paragraphs detailing basic pieces of uniform like buttons, coat facings and other memorabilia of interest only for modellers and reenactors.
It doesn't read as the usual René Chartrand book, and is clearly below his high standards. The list of units is too long and most of the information is too vague for the narrative to flow normally. The plates are okay, but nothing outstanding. In one of the good plates (E3) a ranger from Jessup's Loyal Rangers stands above a bluecoat he killed in the bush. Plate A2 has a black ex-slave of the Ethiopian Regiment with "Liberty to Slaves" written on his shirt. The rest is very repetitive and bland.
The photographs of pieces of cloth, flags and portraits are too dark and blackened to be useful. One portrait of LtCol Banastre Tarleton is well represented, which is nice. The portrait of Thayeadanegea (Joseph Brant), the Mohawk Chief, is too dark to be useful.
The loyalists are described as being a no insignificant 20% of the population in the original 13 Colonies and coming from recent migrants from Britain, public servants, landowners and businessmen with strong ties with the metropole, freed black slaves and ordinary citizens that felt the Crown would protect their rights better than "the rampaging advocates of 'Liberty,' who in practice often turned violently upon anyone who disagreed with their arguments." Since the revolutionaries were quick to seize property of those who opposed the independence, and massacred loyalist troops and hanged loyalist officers, that's not far fetched.
The main contributions of the loyalist "Tories" was to provided highly accurate intelligence, light infantry and cavalry units that placed the revolutionaries in a plain field for a larger, more powerful regular British army to maneuver and fight in the bigger battles; with many ranger and loyal regiments and legions. Without the French and the Spanish there is no way the 13 colonies would have won. The most effective loyalist units were the Butler's Rangers, the British Legion, the Loyal American Legion and the Queen's Rangers. Other units have pompous names like "Royal Fencible Americans" and "Emmerich's Chasseurs". Some units were big enough to fight in pitched battles while many others were too small to anything but understrength garrison duty. The main commands were New York, Canada and the Caribbean, all three conducting their operations independently.
This book's subject is too vast and should have been done in three volumes so each region could be explored properly, from the Canadian wilderness to the more adventuresque Caribbean fighting against the Spanish. The odyssey of United Corps of Pennsylvania & Maryland Loyalists is quite interesting, being sent to Pensacola via Jamaica, they were captured by the Spanish in Pensacola and sent as prisoners to Havana, in Cuba. Being exchanged they were sent back to New York until resettled in New Brünswick after the war.
Oddballs were French Canadian settlers who were forced into service, including with threats from conscripting two married men to each deserter, and Indians serving with the British; given that expansion into Indian lands was a major factor in the deflagration of the war it is easy to see why.
The book ends with the loyalists being ressettled as units, accompanied with their families, into British Canada. The British governament cared for them until their communities became self-sustained. Many had been persecuted and had their property seized; some were murdered. Five great fleets resettled over 35,000 loyalists and their families in Canada. A woman is mentioned as not having shed a tear during the war but being overcome by grief as, while holding her baby, she watched the ships that resettled them sail away; but doesn't really quote what she said. Page 40 depicts a draft of loyalists drawing lots for their land alongside their wives. After all lots were set, the units were disbanded. Chartrand then presents a vast bibliography and the plate details.
The mindset of those men and women really warrant further study, such as a Warrior title. Recently Osprey announced a Combat title and that's a good thing. René Chartrand ends his narrative with the words "Indeed, although the fact is largely unappreciated in present-day Canada, it was the Loyalists who brought north many of the basic political and cultural institutions that now largely define the modern nation. Like the French-Canadians they joined in their new country, the Loyalists surmounted the consequences of a lost war, and built a new and forward-looking society that preserved their ideals."

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DayZ: RedDawn is a new DayZ server that's still in development that is looking for a community of players to give us feedback on our current state of the server, The server is aimed to be noob friendly and nontoxic and provides some useful addons!

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Discord: https://discord.gg/SFxppAFJPA
WE OFFER INGAME BONUSES FOR INVITING YOUR FRIENDS TO THE SERVER!
Join the discord for more information!
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Features & Addons:

• Loot++
• Better Air Drops
• All Loot Spawn Pristine
• No Run Stamina
• Slower Digestive (Less Hungry/Thirsty)
• Longer Days/Shorter Night ( 15 Minute Nights )
• Starting GeaLoot
• Traders + 25k Start
• Player2Player Trader
• Radios + Cassettes
• Dj Items + Vinyls
• Spawn Selection
• Bed Respawn
• Raid Schedule
• PvP Zones
• Safe Zones
• Bandit System
• Better Map
• Mini Map
• Compass Navigation
• BaseBuildingPlus
• Dynamic Item Placements (Place an item where u want it exactly)
• Build Any Where (No restrictions on ground level)
• Territories
• KeyPads
• Groups/Party System (With party chat)
• PVP/PVE Leaderboard
• Killfeed
• KOTH
• Dog Companion
• Garbage Search
• Auto Run
• Disable Broken Legs
• Slower Footwear Damage
• No Vehicle Damage
• Car Keys
• Car keypads
• Heli Spawns
• Motorcycles
• More Vehicles
• More Storage Items & Furniture
• More Backpacks
• Cl0ud's More Military Gear & Camos
• Modular Vest System + MVS Custom Gear
• RedFalcon Flight System Heliz

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RedDawn IP:
IP: 208.115.217.67 Port: 2302