Check out mid journey.com Took about 2min for me to start goofing around generating “art”.
I hate calling it art because that’s an insult to all the great artists out there and in this community. It is [oc] but not art.
Give it a try. I have generated “art” for a few of the main characters in my campaign. The following link should take you to my gallery. https://www.midjourney.com/app/users/1c2a6fd1-52bd-457b-9f6d-28229ab485f2/
It’s super easy and I’m sure many of you will enjoy. The use of discord for an interface sucks! But it does work.
Once you join the discord find and enter any newbie channel Type /imagine prompt a wood elf riding a unicorn into the desert, style fantasy, realistic, hyper realistic
The style fantasy makes it use d&d type fantasy style The inclusion of realistic and hyper realistic make it not be cartoon like You can end with —s 750 which is a double dash, letter S for stylize and 750 as a number between 1 and 1000 where 1000 is very stylized.
That’ll get you started in about 2min. Post up what you generate!

So say I go to Japan and buy some clothes and skincare items. When returning to the US, am I obligated to pay taxes on these items? What is the procedure to go through? Thanks..

i dont know if i expressed it right because english is not my first laguage so i apologise.
what i need is for students of normal schools/higscools to fill this form
i dont have anything to offer in exchange,l and it will only take a few minutes to complete
the link to the form is at the bottom, thanks in advance to anyone who does it
i will make another form for students from boarding schools if there is any so see you soon
​
https://forms.gle/JCfakpRk2MafeoRt6

I usually take 20mg every morning. Now I’m stuck at work. I can be pretty bad about psyching myself out and convincing myself I’m having terrible withdrawals. So far a little foggy. Guess I’m just looking for encouraging words, does missing one days worth like this make a huge difference?

I’ve been struggling to quit for a while. I’ll go a couple days then try moderation out only to be back on my regular shit a couple nights after. I just don’t want to feel like a loser anymore. :/
I was interested in taking Naltrexone because the immense amounts of positive reviews were so encouraging. I’m trying to figure out how much it will cost to get it without insurance.
I was planning on doing monument, does anyone know how much they charge for the actual drug or do they send the script to a pharmacy so they can fill it? Was curious if I could try to get the actual meds from Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus pharmacy.

I usually take 20mg every morning. Now I’m stuck at work. I can be pretty bad about psyching myself out and convincing myself I’m having terrible withdrawals. So far a little foggy. Guess I’m just looking for encouraging words, does missing one days worth like this make a huge difference?

We’ve all seen the video of a ball outside on a left-handed batter in a blue jersey. The ump calls a strike, the batter says “that ball was…” and then the batter draws a line in the dirt denoting a ball not-over-the-plate. The umpire immediately reminds him why we have “the greatest sport in the world - because of ejections.”
My question is - in that moment, the at-bat is still going down. When the new batter replaces eagle-eyes arguing balls and strikes, does that batter inherit a 3-2 count? Or does that batter get a new set of balls and strikes?

Should Parental obligations extend to unborn babies?
For my argument I’m going to use three analogies. Now for any of the three analogies to have any bearing on abortion, we have to assume that the fetus becomes a person at some point prior to birth. I’ll address those who do not share this assumption afterward.
The first analogy makes the point that while every person has a right to bodily autonomy, they have to exercise that autonomy in such a way that it minimizes conflict with the bodily autonomy of others. My right to swing my fist ends at the next person’s face.In most cases, this is unproblematic, because our bodies are independent of one another, so it is straight forward to minimize conflict. But what if they weren’t? What if for instance, you were tightly handcuffed to another person, and no one could find the key?
In this case, your bodily autonomy is in conflict with another person’s. You may want to go one way while the other person wants to go the other. Does that mean you now have the right to immediately take any and all actions, no matter how drastic, to reassert your bodily autonomy? Would you have the right, for instance chop off their arm and leave them for dead?
I think most people would agree that you cannot ethically take such drastic action in most cases. You would be obligated to remove the handcuffs in a manner most consistent with the other person’s autonomy. That might mean waiting for some time until someone else can remove the handcuffs.
I also think most people would agree that the other circumstance could make it possible to chop of their arm if they started to attack you or if the handcuffs were cutting off your circulation and putting your life at risk. But if those factors are absent, is the amount of time you have to wait one of those circumstances? What if the person was no threat to you, but you had to wait one hour to have the handcuffs removed? What about one day, one week, one month, one year?
I’m assuming it doesn’t matter why the two became handcuffed to each other any more than it matters why two people had sex. But is there any morally relevant difference between a person who is attached to your body internally?
If not, then once the fetus becomes a person, the mother would have an obligation to restore their autonomy through the least invasive means possible. And the least invasive means of expelling the person consistent with the bodily autonomy of both persons is to carry the pregnancy through to birth and then give the baby up for adoption. An abortion, in this case, would maximize one person’s bodily autonomy at the expense of another.
It could theoretically go too far in the other direction, such as by forcing a woman to give birth to a child very unlikely to survive at severe risk to her own life. That would be maximizing the fetus’ bodily autonomy at the expense of the mother’s. But in some cases, it seems that waiting and giving birth, rather than abortion, is the option that maximizes the respect of bodily autonomy of both persons.
The point of the next analogy is this: is there any argument that could be used to defend a mother’s right to bodily autonomy that could also not be used to defend a mother’s right to infanticide?
In this case, a pregnant woman finds out she is due in 9 months. She decides that she does not want to be a mother, so she terminates the pregnancy. In another case, a woman has a 9month old baby, and she decides she does not want to be a mother, so she kills the child. Is there any morally relevant difference between the two?
You might say that once the child is born, it is no longer physically dependent upon the mother specifically, just somebody generally. Since she could give the baby up for adoption, she does not have a right to kill the child if she decides she does not want to be a mother. But if she’s pregnant, the only way to exercise her right not to be mother is to terminate the pregnancy.
Since that’s a fair point, let’s change the analogy a bit. Let’s say the child is newborn, and it is in a country with an undeveloped adoption agency process. The agency says that it will be a 9month wait until the child can be adopted, and they do not have the resources to place the child in foster care until then. She doesn’t know anyone else willing to take care of the child, so the mother will have to do so in the meantime. Keeping the child for nine more months is neither a burden to the mother’s health or finances, but she simply doesn’t want to be a mother anymore and doesn’t want to wait. Does she now have the right to kill the child? If not, why? The child is totally dependent on the same specific person (the mother) in either case, the only difference being whether the child is inside or outside the mother.
In defense of the mother’s right to an abortion, I’ve often heard the analogy with donating blood or bone marrow. The argument goes that we respect bodily autonomy in other cases even when it leads to the death of another person. It does not matter if someone will die unless I donate my blood. The hospital cannot force me to donate it, no matter what my reason for refusal. So it would be double standard to say that women must have a good reason to terminate pregnancy.
I was convinced by this analogy at first, but it looks a little weaker to me after reading some counter-examples. It seems like it does not distunguish between letting someone die and actually killing them. To make the analogy as strong as possible, let's say a child with aggressive leukemia will die in 9months if not given a bone marrow transplant. There is only one person in the world who is compatible enough with that child to donate their bone marrow without rejection. That person refused to do so. It shouldn't matter why they refused, they just do.
The child like the fetus, is utterly dependent for their life upon another person l. But although we might think the potential donor to be wicked, selfish person if he refused save that child's life for no good reason, we would not put him in jail for homicide. If the donor however, decided to stab the child to death he would go to jail immediately. In his defense, he says... "well it was completely up to me whether the child lived or died anyway. If I didn't donate my bone marrow, the child would die. Why does it matter how I killed the child by refusing to donate or stabbing him?
I don't think any jury in the world would accept that defense. Perhaps in some cases, letting someone die is as bad as killing them -- there's some grey area on that. But killing someone is always atleast as bad and often worse, than letting them die. If a fetus becomes a person at some point before birth, it seems terminating the pregnancy is actively killing a person than letting them die through inaction. If you think there's no practical difference between the two, does that mean you would let the donor go free if he stabbed the child? Or that you would have him arrested for refusing to donate the bone marrow?
Is it so unfair to argue that the mother's bodily autonomy must be weighed against the Fetuses right to life, which means sometimes, the fetus right to live may trump her right to end the pregnancy.

I created my pin but it said it said my claim is not payable at this, obviously bc it’s only been a week and my claim is still pending. so what do they mean certify for benefits while claim is under review?

Two days back, I went to work. Started my shift on Sunday night at 11pm, like every week this past year. Checking off my forklift, including a report of error codes that come up frequently. I've reported the same problems with it for months, and nothing has ever been done about it. All of the lifts where I worked are in horrible condition for various reasons, the least of which being that there is no maintenance team on site to work on them. The company does not provide distilled water for the batteries, so they get topped up with tap water. (anyone who works with this kind of equipment knows you just don't do that) They repeatedly had us move skids that exceeded the capacity by several hundred to more than a thousand pounds, and as such, the hydraulic lines would frequently burst. One guy on my shift actually had his mast fall off because the bolts sheared off. Long story short, safety is not a thing, though they'll talk like it is their highest priority. Then out the other side of their mouth, if you slow your pace to do something safely, they're breathing down your neck about why it's taking longer. They expected us to move as fast as possible, and would fire people over trivialities. Job security was a wild card.
Backtrack to Sunday night. I checked my lift, same as usual. Same error code reported. I'm doing an off-load, taking product off a trailer and placing it on the floor in the correct lanes. Driving full speed with a skid, with 400 lbs on it, and suddenly my lift begins veering left. The dash lights up with that same error code, and the steering is locked up. I can't slow down normally, by letting off the accelerator pedal, so I hit the break. Forklift stops dead, and the skid almost slides off the forks. If someone had been standing in the row next to my intended path, they'd have been crushed. I tagged the machine out, and took a moment to consider what happened, then concluded it's time to walk. I've spent several months making complaints and reporting problems, and nothing ever changed. So now they're going to be down one man on night shift because I refuse to put myself or others at risk by operating faulty equipment. They already pay less than industry standard, and we weren't even making a premium for night shift. Never once did I see a raise, having been there a year. Now I'm faced with having to report that place for unsafe work conditions, because they won't maintain what little equipment they do provide their employees. I could write a novel for all the problems with that company, organized into chapters for safety violations, poor management, and laughable pay rates. My co-workers have agreed with me, that if any place needed a union, it's them.
Don't deal with Speedy Transport. They give zero fucks about their employees.

Whenever you go to a compound its always the same place, but i think it would be more interesting if there were some slight to drastic changes that could change how the compound plays. These changes would have a random chance to occur and their frequency should depend on how drastic they are. For example, what if you went into the Madonna graveyard and the basement was slightly flooded so all your footsteps would splash and any dynamite would have to be timed or else be put out by the water. Or maybe you go to Seven Sisters and part of the second floor of the barn has collapsed, maybe even a wall or two as well, opening big holes to the outside and lower floor. Another example could be something as simple as adding black refuse on the ground similar to what The Assassin does so traps could easily be hidden. Lastly, this is an extreme example but what if you went to Ass Cheek Lumbar and some maniac set it on fire before he was turned into a zombie. The whole building would have plumes of smoke like the inferno wildcard but for the most part its only visual and audio interferrance, and not a lot of areas that would deal fire damage, this change would be rare and even rarer it would be the boss compound. I think the prospect of random compound changes would bring fresh, new takes on familiar maps without needing to make an entirely new map which as we know takes years. Plus, these random compound changes offer a lot of leeway into what they could change.
Sidenote, a couple ideas of my ideas:
-Alchemist: a perk that turns ammo from normal ammo boxes into 1-3 special ammo, meaning you get a lot less normal ammo if you're missing some special.
-Fire Eater: a perk which lets you use burned items. Maybe it even lets you loot burnt players and their weapons.
-the ability to queue up decoys and blank fire decoys so you can throw them in quick succession, your hunter would just grab a handful.
-bleeding and regen shots should negate each other, this would give even more reason to bring a regen shot since it will eliviate the time pressure when you're hit with a dum dum and are about to die.
-chaos bombs, blank fire, and all player gunshots should be able to deafen you the same way you deafen yourself when you fire a lot. This would give way to new strategies.
-special ammo cartons: these would allow you to switch an ammo type of your weapon to whatever special ammo type it is. They can rarely be found in the world, usually near a naturally spawned gun. Also, if they spawn near a gun then they should be special ammo for that gun.
I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on this as I am excitedly anticipating what Hunt Showdown has in store for us in the on coming years.

Section 1 How do you work? Why do people go to work? Are there any parameters that determine whether you can do work or not? What are they?
I tend to work in a stable amount of time and pace so I don't get overwhelmed. I always work visualizing the end so it's common for me to make dumb mistakes in the process because of my lack of attention to it, lol. People work because without it they don't have means to survive, it's not that deep.
How do you determine the quality of work? How do you determine the quality of a purchase? Do you pay any attention to it?
If it's useful for me in something, it means it worked. Of course it would be better if it had the utility it was created for in the first place, but just having an utility is enough already. It's basically the same with purchases. I don't think I pay much attention to it, tho.
There is a professional next to you. How do you know they are a professional? How do you evaluate their skill?
By their knowledge in the area and by the way activities are done. Professionals are more used to a certain activity than someone that isn't. I would evaluate their skill by the time they take to do something,
If you struggle to do something, how do you fix that? Do you know if your performance is better or worse than others?
I freak out at first because this isn't really common, but latter on I calm down and try to see what I'm doing wrong and fix it.
How do you measure the success of a job? What standard do you use? Do you pay attention to it? When should you deviate from this standard?
If it has an utility in the end, it was successful. I don't think too much about this kind of thing.
Section 2 What is a whole? Can you identify its parts? Are the parts equivalent to the whole?
A whole is the 100% of something, the total. The parts are identifiable, and alone, they are the total formed of even smaller parts and this continues forever lol. Even when you think you can divide anymore, yes you can. In the past, people thought the atoms were indivisible, but guess what. If something is divided in parts, it will never be seen like before, ever again. When you see the parts clearly and put them together, it's not the same as it was when you just knew the total.
What does "logical" mean? What is your understanding? Do you think that it correlates with the common view? How do you know you are being logical?
Logic is the grouping of the methods and principles used to separate a correct reasoning from a wrong reasoning. If you do that, you're being logical. What makes something correct? Consistency and factual data. I don't think mine relates much to the common view tho.
What is hierarchy? Give examples of hierarchies. Do you need to follow it? Why or why not? Explain how hierarchy is used in a system you are familiar with.
Classification of information based on the intensity of one common aspect all the elements have. For example, in biology, there is a hierarchy of structure complexity in the animal kingdom. I don't really care about most hierarchies, except social ones. I never understand them well and I hate when people aren't treated equally.
What is classification? How does classification work? Why is it needed and where is it applied? Give examples.
Classifications are groupings of elements with at least one aspect in common. Classifications are applied basically everywhere and it's really helpful to organize information and make learning easier.
Are your ideas consistent? How do you know they are consistent? How do you spot inconsistency in others' ideas?
I think so, since I consciously spend time analyzing them to see inconsistencies. Something is inconsistent if aspects contradict one another. If not, then the idea is consistent. In arguments, I tend to ask a lot of questions till the person contradicts and then I point it with another question.
Section 3 Can you press people? What methods do you use? How does it happen?
To be honest, not really. I lack drive and It's really difficult to do so. If I need someone to do something I'll try to persuade them. That's probably the closer I can get from "pushing" people. Only happens if the other person's actions can downgrade me as well. I don't really care if people wanna make their lifes difficult, but I draw the line at the moment someone wants to make my life difficult.
How do you get what you want? What do you do if you have to work to get what you want?
I try to convince the other person by persuasion and reasoning. Doing a contract (it doesn't need to be something formal, just a promise) to get what the person wants and getting what I want in return is also a good thing, since I value reciprocity.
How do you deal with opposition? What methods do you use to defend your interests?
I'm really cautious with what I defend and always stay observant and tense when someone disagrees with me. I'm not hostile, but I don't trust either. When I reason with someone, I start asking many questions till the person contradicts herself and then I show my arguments. People usually hate this method used on them but who cares, it's great.
When do you think it's ok to occupy someone's space? Do you recognize it?
Umm... Never? I don't like to do so with others as much as I hate when people invade my space.
Do others think you are a strong-willed person? Do you think you have a strong will?
I don't think I'm known for being strong willed neither see me this way. I can be really persistent if I want something (my brain doesn't lete rest but I don't think being strong willed is an iconic trait on me.
Section 4 How do you satisfy your physical senses? What examples can you give? What physical experiences are you drawn to?
Staying in silence while reading something I like or listening to chaotic music while walking around a room. If I'm overwhelmed, I just close my eyes and stay quiet for some seconds. I'm drawn to not much intense, routine experiences.
How do you find harmony with your environment? How do you build a harmonious environment? What happens if this harmony is disturbed?
I'm really dependent of structure in my environment as well. It's not the typical organization people are familiar with, but is something that works for me and is in my control.
What does comfort mean to you? How do you create it?
Feeling confort is feeling at ease. I create this feeling by engaging in what I like, it's not that deep.
How do you express yourself in your hobbies? How do you engage yourself with those things?
I use my hobbies to distract myself from reality. I don't think or notice emotional expression on any artwork I make, if it exists, if it exists, is unconscious. My favorite hobbies are researching and reading, but sometimes I do art to replicate something I saw and liked.
Tell us how you'd design any room, house or an office. Do you do it yourself, or trust someone else to do it? Why?
My aesthetic sense is not my forte, so help is greatly welcomed. But don't force anything, only give suggestions, you're just there to help me. Nothing more, nothing less.
Section 5 Is it acceptable to express emotions in public? Give examples of inappropriate expression of emotions.
It depends of what emotion it is and the context. I will use a funeral as an example: laughing is inappropriate but crying isn't. Everything depends of context.
How do you express your emotions? Can you tell how your expressions affect others in a positive or negative way?
I don't usually express my emotions it unless I'm in a favorable environment. It's difficult to tell if I influence people in this area.
Are you able to change your demeanor in order to interact with your environment in a more or less suitable way? How do you determine what is suitable?
It's difficult but I try to make an effort to at least not call other's attention. I simply copy how others are acting and try to go unnoticed.
In what situations do you feel others' feelings? Can you give examples of when you wanted to improve the mood of others?
It's difficult to feel what others are feeling in almost any situation if they don't show explicitly. My ways of comforting others are pretty clumsy, the most I can do is listen to the person while awkwardly patting them on the back. Wow
How do others' emotions affect you? How does your internal emotional state correlate or contrast with what you express?
I'm pretty influenced by it, since I tend to copy what other people express. I don't think my expressions match what I feel most of the time. My demonstration of feelings are really confusing to others and even myself, and because of that misinterpretations are common.
Section 6 How can you tell how much emotional space there is between yourself and others? How can you affect this space?
The point is, I can't really tell. My understanding of this is pretty weak. It's common for me to act really formal when and with who I shouldn't or act too "disrespectful" or intimate with who I shouldn't. I don't recognize this situations really well.
How do you determine how much you like or dislike someone else? How does this affect your relationships?
If they make me feel unsafe and uneasy, I don't like them. When this happens, I just distance myself from the person without any hostility, and this often confuses them.
How do you move from a distant relationship to a close one? What are the distinguishing characteristics of a close relationship?
Interacting with the person more often I guess? I think what differentiates close from distant relationships is the intimacy of the shared information.
How do you know that you are a moral person? Where do you draw your morality from? Do you believe others should share your beliefs on what's moral? Why?
I can't really tell. It comes from external principles, mostly. It would be cool since it would prevent a great amount of conflicts.
Someone you care about is acting distant to you. How do you know when this attitude is a reflection of your relationship?
At first I'll only think the person wants space and not really care about it. If it persists for too long I'll get worried but I'll need to prepare myself before asking if something is wrong. This kind of thing requires a lot of energy omgf. I'll be unable to do anything after that in the day.
Section 7 How can you tell someone has the potential to be a successful person? What qualities make a successful person and why?
By the enthusiasm they talk about a subject and the effort they put on the activities related to it. A successful person, in my view, is a person who is happy with his or her life and work, someone interested and hardworking in getting what they want and who knows a lot about the areas they like.
Where would you start when looking for a new hobby? How do you find new opportunities and how do you choose which would be best?
Hobbies can be found everywhere if you have a great eye, but I tend to find most of them by accident. I choose by what that would help me in and if it makes me at ease and happy.
How do you interpret the following statement: "Ideas don't need to be feasible in order to be worthwhile." Do you agree or disagree, and why?
I agree completely. Ideas are cool for itself, if it's put into practice it would be awesome, but ideas are already enough for themselves.
Describe your thought process when relating the following ideas: swimming, chicken, sciences. Do you think that others would draw the same or different connections?
Hmm.. swimming to save the chicken from the science experiment? Idk couldn't think of any other thing lmao. People's brains associate things differently so the chance of this happening is pretty low.
How would you summarize the qualities that are essential to who you are? What kind of potential in you has yet to be actualized and why?
I'm a really curious and knowledgeable girl that loves to learn, I'm also pretty controlling and organized with my routine (can't say the same about my room, tho)
Section 8 How do people change? Can you describe how various events change people? Can others see those changes?
It's a slow process, but it happen. People can change for a huge amount of reasons, such as knowledge of a new ideology, for example. The changes can be seen by others or not, it depends if the person will show it.
How do you feel and experience time? Can time be wasted? How?
I guess I have a great notion of it, somehow I'm rarely late to anything even if I don't put much attention to it (which is what usually happens). Like, I always come in the exact time even with my inattention to it, it's weird. To be honest, I do think time can be wasted in some situations, like trying to convince someone that won't be convinced.
Is there anything that cannot be described with words? What is it? If so, how can we understand what it is if language does not work?
Some things may be difficult to translate into words, but it isn't impossible. Everything can be explained in words if you spend enough time reflecting and elaborating the definition. If this process is not working, try to draw it, even if you aren't a professional artist. Just do it, it's helpful.
How do you anticipate events unfolding? How can you observe such unfoldments in your environment?
I don't pay much attention to it but I'm able to. It's something kinda obvious based on cause-consequence relationships.
In what situations is timing important? How do you know the time is right to act? How do you feel about waiting for the right moment?
Timing is capable of making a ridiculously huge difference, but analyzing this too much will cause more harm than good (and analysis paralysis). I'm structured in my life and it's common for me to plan how, when and where to act beforehand.
P.s. I'm diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and my current typologies are IT(N) INTP so5 :)

Hello everyone I had my septum piercing done in november 2021, it has been some time. 6 days ago I had an operation from my nose and I havent worn my septum ring since. My doctor told me not to wear it for a month. My concern is will it close up? Im not really good with needles so having it repierced will be uncomfortable. Did anyone have similar experiences? How long does a healed septum take to close? For anyone wondering about the size, here is what it looked like. It's a small piercing.
https://preview.redd.it/bwpeoak1boqa1.jpg?width=355&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f122a56744f8953283eb128cab72c96a92e2923a

My father-in-law has gone off the deep end and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it because he’s an otherwise smart and normal guy. I’ve known him 20 years and he’s always been a stanch Republican and ALWAYS repeats the hot button topic as if he’s some sort of expert. I always thought of him as financially smart but have learned he’s more likely lucky to have had a high paying secure job for 20 years and invested in whatever was considered norm (SPY, for example).
Digressing, last night the full cuckoo came pouring out because he can’t stop himself from talking about the end of times for a single night. It started with him saying “woke”. I laughed at him and was like bro, that’s a Republican buzzword to which he replied, “I’m not a Republican.” (He also claims he doesn’t watch Fox News but when I turned the tv on that was the last thing he was watching). I responded, “oh right, I forgot, you’re a conspiracy guy now.”
The crazy floodgate opened when he had to prove he’s smarter than “a single party” and dumped all sorts of garbage on my lawn with such smug confidence it’s hard to look at someone and say “you’re crazy.”
I can’t even put together what he was saying but it was everything from how taking US dollars out of Russia was “always their plan to destroy the dollar” to trains in Saudi Arabia and the Chinese taking over the world. I said, if Russia and China are aligning to take over the world wouldn’t everything you see online be bull crap? You can always see a micro aggression where he’s confused and angry all at once before bursting into another conspiracy about gold and silver.
He ran to his massive human-sized safe packed with money and shotguns, and pulled out a box filled with his silver coin collection which I had never seen. He was very excited to show me all the cool silver he had that will surely have value when the financial system collapses and nothing has value but water and food.
I was a little surprised to see actual treasury issued silver dollars but I laughed when I looked up the value and discovered they’re worth maybe $2. But the kicker were the “bars of silver” and random coins that didn’t look “official”. I asked for a history lesson, he rambled some nonsense and changed the subject almost to the extent of “I don’t know.” His point was silver is silver and will be worth everything when the dollar collapses. “You have no idea what’s coming,” he repeated over and over.
It’s impossible to even argue with someone like this because they know all sorts of bullshit and you can’t just sit there and debunk every point item by item. I just said “I don’t know anything about what you’re talking about but I suppose it never hurts to have some money under your mattress.”
He redecorated the house and made sure to put the most ridiculous books out as conversation starters or to show how smart he is. He’s got everything from “The Real Anthony Fauci” by conspiracy grifter RFKJ to, of course, books about god, saints, and the Bible. He’s also ruined V for Vendetta and Watchmen for me - does he not realize those books were written in defiance against everything he’s absorbing right now?
Whenever we visit, all he does it listen to podcasts and look at stuff on his phone. Based on the timeline of stupid emails he’s sent, I’m pretty sure he was scooped up into discord off YouTube comments. Dinosaurs are fake, by the way.
At least before we left he played his podcast about car inflation super loud over my kid watching Sponge Bob so everyone in the room could learn about how 7% plus inflated costs = 1600 in additional costs. I can do fucking math and I can see what’s going on, but thanks.
Venting complete but trying to reckon with a normal guy becoming a lunatic.

Before I get started, If you haven't seen the map I made for the tier two and tier one bus network, I highly recommend you take a look here I think the map I made is currently the highest quality image available of the tier one and tier two bus networks (DART PLEASE MAKE THIS AVAILABLE in high quality)
The main takeaway from this map is that DART is going to make some MASSIVE frequency improvements. A while ago, I made a post about the improvements DART is making and it really looks like we are starting to see some of those materialize.
With that out of the way, I asked staff a lot of questions, and here's all the info I've gathered:
SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS:

• Orange line off peak to Parker road is something they have considered in the past. If enough people push for it they may do it
  • https://www.dart.org/futureprojects (survey here)
• 883 east frequency boost likely coming fall semester
  • This route gets overcrowded
• 883 west and east combined ridership has seen numbers as high as 8,000 riders per day
• Later hours and weekend service GoLink has resulted in huge ridership gains
  • Though keep in mind, GoLink is still low capacity. The two streetcar lines (mainly the m-line) see more ridership than all GoLink zones combined
    • Although this may no longer be true with more weekend and late night service on the GoLink
• There are two tiers of bus system improvements
  • Tier one, which increases frequency on select routes
    • Cheaper to implement, will come within 5 years more likely than not
    • Around 12 routes to see frequency improvements in tier one
    • my tier one map is missing some super small and minor details (DART PLEASE MAKE THIS MAP AVAILABLE IN HIGH QUALITY)
  • Tier two, which increases frequency system wide and on select routes
    • Tier two feels too good to be true
    • The frequent routes now run 15 minutes from 6 am to 10 pm 7 days a week
    • The local coverage routes now run 30 minutes all day 6 am to 10 pm 7 days a week
    • Many routes in the suburbs, south dallas, oak cliff, and pleasant grove see promotions that go beyond the system wide improvements
    • Way more expensive to implement, but DART is going to make it work as more money becomes available and as they re-prioritize projects in their financial plan
    • We can expect this to happen a little bit after 5 years, but its still up in the air. Staff seems very motivated to make tier two happen though
• TRE Sunday service is something DART staff wants, but Trinity Metro is more hesitant on
  • More details regarding this here
• When DART increases or adds weekend service, ridership on the weekdays improves
• When DART increases late night service, ridership during the day improves
• When DART improves frequency, ridership improves on the route to fill in some of the new capacity enabled by the frequency

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NEW SERVICE:

• Plano City Managers happy with GoLink Service, but they want more fixed route service
• DART is primarily considering more east-west service in Plano
  • Main route bring considered is a route that runs on spring creek from parker road station
  • Have your own suggestions? dart.org/futureprojects
• This is apart of the area plans DART is making. For different sections of the service area, DART is making more focused plans and analysis for specific cities/neighborhoods to see what can be done to improve transit.
• New golink zone near the air port in Irving
  • But I suspect we will see GoLink zones expanded, and new ones come up to fill in the few remaining gaps in service DART has

BUS INFRATSRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS:

• Route 57 (westmoreland), sees ridership of over 3,500 per day, most popular route
• The route 57 is the closest route to getting enough ridership to get federal funding for a bus rapid transit conversion
• DART will do infrastructure upgrades on their highest ridership/frequency, most unreliable bus routes to improve speed and reliability
  • Potential upgrades includes queue jumps, bus lanes, signal priority
• Bus reliability will still improve significantly without the infrastructure improvements. Some routes see on time performance below 70%, while others are higher than 90%, but the general average is around 83-85% (where On time performance is defined a bus coming between 1 minute early and no more than 5 minutes late)
  • Tweaks and adjustments are being made to improve the worst performers
  • 85% is not too bad considering the reality that buses have to share the road with traffic
    • but with infrastructure upgrades it could do better
• DART already has funding for bus corridor improvements in their financial plan
• If you notice your bus getting delayed at a particular intersection or road, let them know by emailing [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) they want to know where your bus needs the most help to get moving. They want to know where their infrastructure improvements need to go
• They want to do this on their most frequent routes. This includes routes slated to get frequency improvements in tier one and tier two

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D2 UPDATE:

• DART does not need D2 to achieve 10 minute headways on the rail
  • improvements to mocking bird, pearl, and west end junctions are needed though
  • More details here
• If we want to go Beyond 10 minute headways, we will probably need D2
• While Tier Two focuses on achieving more 15 minute and 30 minute service, Nadine Lee's goal is to achieve 10 minute service on the frequent bus and light rail
  • But this is really long term from what I can tell. I'm not expecting this to happen anytime soon
• I asked about increasing frequencies by adding north south lines, such as a Parker Road to Buckner line that bypasses downtown
  • The problem is, whenever you have a train going from cityplace/uptown to deep ellum station, it blocks trains going to or from pearl for 3 minutes
  • This means DART cannot operate this kind of service as of right now

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STATE POLITICS GETTING IN THE WAY OF TRANSIT:

• Texas killed transit expansion across the state when they allowed sales tax to be used for property tax abatement or economic development
  • This leaves no money for transit, since cities can only allocate 2% of their sales tax
  • Any city with transit today has transit because they allocated their sales tax BEFORE they had any other way to spend it
  • Transit didn't just stop expanding to new cities in DFW, but the whole state of Texas
• Attempts have been made to pass a transportation choices act
  • This would allow Texas cities to add a new transit tax that is EXEMPT from the 2% sales tax limit on municipal governments
  • It would be completely up to the municipality and its voters, its a choice.
  • Did not go very far in the state legislature, but did have some support from democrats and republicans
• TxDot legally CANNOT spend a dime on public transportation
  • any dollar TxDot gives to DART or other transit agencies is just money funneled through the Federal department of transportation
    • This is money that could have only be spent on transit
  • This limit is imposed on TxDot by the state constitution
• Needless to say, a lot needs to change at the state level
  • Texas hamstrings public transportation
• Apparently, TxDot is starting to open up to public transportation more and more
  • Though it seems like they have a long ways to go
• DART thinks that TxDot and the state won't be friendly to public transportation until traffic gets so bad they won't have another choice
  • its frustrating because we should be investing in public transportation to PREVENT LA levels traffic, but it looks like our state leaders will sleep on the issue until we get that crippling traffic. Only then will finally (hopefully) take transit seriously
• Please vote

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MISC:

• DART had to overcome a bus operator shortage to restore frequency and reliability to their service
  • They were successful, roughly 7% of trips were being cancelled. Now its less than 1%
  • HOWEVER, this came at a monumental effort, lots of money spent recruiting, increasing pay, and bonuses
  • This is why DART has enough bus operators, but your local school district and other transit agencies do not. Other employers did not undergo this monumental recruiting effort
  • It cost a lot of $$$
  • As a result, one of the biggest barriers to the tier two bus network is expected to be hiring new bus operators.
    • Its a tough job market right now (for the employers)
• Police pay is now competitive, so they are expecting to be able to fill their police shortage
  • However it will still take a while, but they expect to be able to do it
  • Police pay was not competitive before (I assume before October, somewhere around there)
• In a few months, DART will start the pilot program that connects homeless riding the system to resources so they don't use DART as a shelter
  • Nonprofits will ride the trains to get homeless riders to shelters
• Route 23 is doing very well
  • That's why its getting a frequency promotion (duh)
• Route 241 is still doing very well
  • I think this should be a 15 minute all day route in tier two, but thats just me
    • I don't know of any other 200 series route that gets over 2000 riders per day, but I also don't have access to the latest data

With that, since these posts tend to get a lot of attention, I wanted to let all of you know that I will be making my own recommendations for the city council elections coming up in May. I will be making recommendations for Plano, Richardson, and Dallas. My primary areas of concern will be how the candidates feel about land use, transit, and housing (in particular, land use and housing near transit) as well as walkability and really any issues relating to multimodal travel.

I'll arrive in Japan end of April around 5pm and I have a train to catch for Kanazawa.
I was wondering considering I've completed the Visit Japan Web thing, how quickly can I get to Tokyo Station from landing at Haneda.
If someone went through Haneda recently, feedback would be super appreciated.
Bonus question: can you pick up JR Pass during or after the activation date?

Irrigation districts to get 80% CVP allocation
The Bureau of Reclamation again followed in the state’s footsteps on Tuesday. The agency updated water allocations for the Central Valley Project to leapfrog past the State Water Project.
Contractors both north and south of the Delta will get 80% of their allocations, up from just 35% in February. Earlier this month, the bureau increased Class 2 Friant contractors from 20% to 70%.
Jose Gutierrez, interim general manager of the Westlands Water District, said this will help farmers “recuperate, hire and retain staff, and bolster their ability to continue feeding the world.” While many farmers have already made planting decisions, this could reduce the strain on groundwater aquifers with irrigation, he added.
Federico Barajas, executive director of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, said investments in water storage and conveyance would enable the state to implement SGMA without harming San Joaquin Valley communities.
Asm. Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano
Rocks, not water, would fight Delta salinity under new bill
Asm. Jasmeet Bains of Delano has filed a measure that would require the state to construct physical barriers to prevent saltwater intrusion in the Delta.
The salinity jeopardizes farms and drinking water and shuts off pumping operations for water projects. For the last two years, the state has flushed out the salinity using freshwater flows and a temporary rock wall at one pinch point.
“Water is too precious a resource to use so wastefully,” said Bains. “It’s time for the state to engineer a better solution.”
In her first weeks in office, the medical doctor has come to defend agriculture in the Capitol. Juxtaposing SGMA impacts with a major bank collapse, she argued that “while Silicon Valley investors get bailed out, San Joaquin Valley farmers get hosed.”
Colorado Drought: Bains has authored another bill seeking to protect ag from a Southern California water grab.
It would prevent Los Angeles and its powerful water district from increasing imports from the San Joaquin Valley and Delta to offset a potential federal order for water conservation along the Colorado River.
Bains called LA’s thirst insatiable and argued “they need to learn to live within their water means.” She added that green lawns in the city are “simply not as important as growing food.”
What it means: The bill rekindles an old north-south rivalry over how much water the state should dedicate to building cities in an arid region.
Farm groups call for challenge to H-2A rule
Farm groups are urging congressional leaders to allow votes on killing the Labor Department’s changes to the way wage rates for H-2A workers are determined. The rule could require farms to pay higher wages to some H-2A employees.
The new regulation “comes at a time when American farmers are reeling due to record high costs of production that have translated into thin and even negative margins, conditions the new regulation will greatly exacerbate. Moreover, the regulation further complicates an already complex program and creates legal uncertainty for farmers who comply with requirements in good faith,” the Ag Workforce Coalition says in a letter to House and Senate leaders.
Under the rule, the Labor Department will calculate the H-2A wage rates for field workers based on USDA’s Farm Labor Survey of farmworker wages. But wage rates for some occupations, including truck drivers as well as managers and supervisors on farms, will be calculated based on a broader wage survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Former FDA official says planned reorganization won’t solve issues
A former top Food and Drug Administration official testified Tuesday that last year's infant formula supply crisis was a “preventable tragedy,” and the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed reorganizational changes fall short of the needed overhaul to improve FDA’s ability to prevent and respond to food safety concerns.
Frank Yiannas, former FDA deputy commissioner in the Office of Food Policy and Response, departed the FDA in January in part over frustration about its leadership structure. On Tuesday, he told a House Oversight Committee hearing the current oversight system is still short of what is needed.
“The nation remains one outbreak, one tornado, flood or cyberattack away from finding itself in a similar place to that of February 17, 2022,” Yiannas said.
Read our full report at Agri-Pulse.com.
Haaland grilled by Republicans on critical minerals
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland sparred with House Republicans Tuesday over U.S. dependence on China for critical minerals. During an appropriations hearing, she said the U.S. Geological Survey is working to identify areas containing critical minerals.
China processes and refines most of the cobalt, lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals in the market, the White House noted last year. Those minerals are “key inputs in clean energy technologies like batteries, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels.”
By the way: The chairman of the House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, said that reverting to 2022 funding levels, as proposed by some House Republicans, would mean “devastation” for the departments of Energy and Interior.
House Ag looks to schedule Regan ‘soon as we can’
EPA Administrator Michael Regan is going to take his turn before the House Ag Committee, where he’s certain to face a broad range of questions, from “waters of the U.S.” to biofuel policy and pesticide regulation.
Ag Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., announced during a hearing Tuesday with Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack that Regan had agreed to appear before the committee.
Thompson told reporters later that there is no date set yet for Regan’s hearing. “I'm hoping that we can squeeze it in as soon as we can,” Thompson said.
By the way: Regan told a House Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday that the administration’s “waters of the U.S.” rule might have to be modified based on the upcoming Supreme Court decision in the Sackett v. EPA case.
“I think we are ahead of the curve in terms of having the framework for moving forward,” Regan said. "The Sackett case may or may not have some impact on that. Whatever that ruling is, we will build it in and continue to move in addition to those exemptions that we built in."
She said it:
“Problem plus money does not equal solution.” — California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, in a discussion at the California Farm Bureau’s Capitol Ag Conference on Tuesday.
Bill Tomson, Jacqui Fatka, Steve Davies and Noah Wicks contributed to this report.

Trapped deep within the confines of my mind, the weight of the murky waters suffocate my soul. Only one can save me. Only one can take it. The pain is too much and such that my mind swivels it's way into any distraction it can. Denying reality, pushing it away. The shame is paralyzing. How could this be? I was once so free. Now I'm a slave, lost in a maze. 1 step forward and 11 back, my life as I knew it has vanished. I'm alone, broke and ruin. I am not who I thought I was. Then who am I? There is only one answer. AHHHHH! I get it now. Fuck yeah love gangsta! This is truth. This is reality. One truth of the many. I am the creator of my reality and thoughts. I am reflecting my own internal world, outwordly. I am the one. From this place nothing is of need because I am it. Which includes all of the love and all of the pain. One within and without. Anything is possible. One day passes by and the pain is back stronger then ever. It consumes my heart with sorrow to the point of debilitation. Frozen in it, there is a brief second to get my head above water. If I fail here, I'm in trouble. During a identity crisis of this magnitude the intervals between emotions are so elevated that I can no longer see any shade between the truth or denial. Everything happens all at once at this point. Anger, fear, pain, sadness, joy, love, freedom, and happiness. It is so much to accept that all of my actions go into survival mode, doing anything to avoid these feelings. Once again I am all consumed. No one is there. No one can see me. So I am not seen. Here's the tricky part about navigating the waves. Without acceptance and compassion to exactly where I am, I continue to deny it as reality. Accepting it means to die an unbearable death. Can I let go? Can I do it. One and only one can do it. One can break the cycle. One can create generational healing and prosperity. One can accept reality just as it is. One can do this by understanding oneself. By catching the wave and allowing it to chose where to go. I am the one who created it in the end so why not experience trusting instead of forcing. But I want it my way! Sudden horror strikes. Pain creeps in, consuming my soul. I am dying. I am alone. This suffering is beyond words. How can I be so connected and disconnected simultaneously. What is happening? I am losing my mind but it doesn't want to die. This identity is losing it's grip. Suffering is GRACE. Why did I sign up for this? One signed up to bring a precious gift to the world. One does not judge you or look down upon you. One is two, that’s you boo. - Ant