Little bit long so buckle up and share all your advice :) My husband (USC) and I filed I-765, I-131,I-130, I-485 April 2022. Did some biometrics in May 2022. Moved house (updated address with someone on the USCIS phone line). My 765 & 131 were approved March 2023! Had to move again March 2023 but updated address again with no issues. April 2023 RFE was requested and we sent them off with the extra support documents like impact statements etc. We’re an IOE case number and assumed our case would take at least until December 2023 to be approved as that would be our 2nd year wedding anniversary. Having not been able to leave USA since arriving on my J1 Trainee Program visa in 2020 we decided to pop over to Ireland to celebrate my birthday with some close friends who live there for a week whilst husband also does some work meetings (June 9, Gemini FTW!!). Lawyers filled us in on the issues that would occur if case gets approved whilst we’re out of the country. Checked all month but no movement at all. Well, we flew out June 8. Checked again and June 6 (I swear I checked this in the am to no movement) suddenly it was being reviewed, June 7 131 & 485 were both APPROVED!! Obviously we’re thrilled and feeling so thankful, but also feeling frustrated and annoyed. Yep we took a risk going overseas. That’s on us. The frustration is that 485 is requesting biometrics and have booked me in for 6/30/23- this letter was addressed to our first address when we filed which is on the East coast. We’ve lived West coast the past two addresses and have not missed any mail since moving. Our lawyers are East coast based and they receive all the mail we do etc. The 130 was addressed to our current address. It’s Saturday so we’ll write our lawyers an email and all that jazz. I’m assuming I’ll be able to reschedule my biometrics because I do not want to fly back east to do the thing I’ve already done. That’s all depending on if they let me back into the country. I’m hoping that as the GC hasn’t been issued because biometrics appt that on a technicality I’ll be able to get back in with less issues.
Any advice on what we should print out for my re entry debacle (we have stuff with us but curious to see what people suggest). Also any advice on what to say to lawyer would be handy too.

Donan was my favorite part of the story inside Diablo IV. His voice actor, James Goode, blew me away from the moment he pulls the soul stone out of Yorin’s head to him using his last breath to ask Lorath if what he’s done was enough. Bravo! What a cool character. He really made that fight against Ashava feel powerful and fun. I hope to hear more from James Goode in future games.

This is mostly copied from iPhone because I am shit at doing this. PS fuck spez.
Hi everyone,
From 11th June insanepeoplefacebook will shut off posting and enter ‘Restricted’ mode. This will mean no more posts will be coming through for the next couple days, until Reddit decide to revert their stance. Our decision to bring forward the blackout is a result of the actions of the Reddit CEO as well as an abysmal AMA that did little to answer our questions or concerns.
The situation
As you may have noticed over the past week, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding Reddit’s recent policy change to charge access to its API. These changes effectively kill third-party apps such as Apollo, Reddit is Fun and many others due to the exorbitant amount Reddit is asking from them to continue access to their API - with these changes threatening to cost apps such as Apollo an upwards of $20 million a year to keep running as is. These prices place an enormous financial burden on these third-party developers, making it unfeasible to continue operations. This has resulted in a number of apps announcing their plans to shut down, including Apollo.
With these apps shutting down, it also makes our jobs as Moderators that much harder. Many of us mods have had to rely on these third-party applications in order to effectively do our job, simply because the official Reddit app doesn’t have the sufficient tools that these other apps offer. This will lead to many regular users having a subpar experience due to Moderators not having the tools to manage their communities well enough.
These changes also have drastic effects on those that need to use those third-party apps for accessibility reasons, due to the official app, nor new Reddit, providing proper levels of accessibility for those that need it. It’s one step closer to making Reddit totally inaccessible to many users.
The Reddit CEO’s recent antics
We also have concerns that Reddit’s very own CEO is comfortable and willing enough to lie, twist facts and gaslight the userbase into being on ‘their’ side in way of accusing Apollo’s developer, Christian, of blackmail and threatening Reddit. And, when proven to be lying through audio recordings, deciding to double down on villainizing said developer in his most recent ‘AMA’.
As moderators and users, this kind of behaviour erodes our trust in the company’s leadership and undermines our confidence in any statements or actions they take. The AMA today was also abysmal enough to the point we wanted to bring our blackout forward from June 12th. It failed to answer any of our questions or concerns.
If you want further context on this particular issue, please read Christian’s (Apollo Dev) post here: https://www.reddit.com/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/
We also cannot privatise the subreddit indefinitely. We just can’t. At the end of the day Admins have made it clear on numerous occasions that attempting to do so will result in intervention. In what way? We aren’t entirely sure, and this is why we will be reviewing our stance on a daily basis. Reddit, at the end of the day, is a business first and foremost. It is defined by the existence of our communities. Without a clear path to end the protest, Reddit must find a solution to end it themselves. The longer the blackout drags on, and and the harder we push them, the more likely it is that they’ll consider playing hard ball and going with the “Nuclear” option of removing Mod Teams and replacing them with those that they know will be compliant. While this option runs the risk of destroying communities due to replacements who don’t actually understand the community they’re running, it’s likely to be a better option for Reddit compared to having half their website shut down.
We will try our best to keep everyone updated on our decision making.
For those curious, here were some numbers on those participating in the blackout (numbers may be outdated, data was from yesterday):
​
Unique Subreddits Unique Moderators Combined Subscribers 3,314 15,676 1,502,606,382
You can find the full list of subreddits participating on Modcoord.
What can you do to help?
Make noise, contact the Admins and voice your displeasure. Make memes, post about it, comment about it.
We do ask that you don’t pressure other communities to join in, though, through modmailing them or messaging Moderators directly. This is incredibly spammy and, at the end of the day, there are subreddits (such as support ones) who should be staying open due to their importance to many people.
Will we go private?
Yes.
Please do not harass any mods about this decision.

Dear Ted,
I’m writing you this letter for a good reason.
Just like you, I want to be heard.
I have some things to say about the technological revolution and its future. I'm very vocal about this, but nobody is listening. So I’m going to do something that might be considered radical…
I’m sending this letter to you in hopes of getting a response. I want to know what you think about the current state of the world and the possible outcomes.
Do nothing, and your words get lost in time.
Do something violent, and your message gets tainted.
Kill yourself, and you’re just another sad story.
Pick one. ~everybody

1. The current state of the world

As you probably know, technology is growing faster than ever and we haven’t even properly adjusted to the internet yet. In a world where most people are blindly following algorithms to keep them entertained, the most powerful are investing in digital minds to conquer the world. It’s a shitshow.
Artificial intelligence is getting super advanced. It’s almost certain that it will build somebody’s utopia or kill us all; and it can have a major effect on our mental health. More jobs will become obsolete as AI becomes more advanced, and this will lead to massive change. How will we handle this change? Time will tell. But I worry.

1. What are the possible outcomes?

Extinction event.
AI can lead to our downfall. We’re creating machines that are way more intelligent than we can comprehend and we’re acting carelessly. This technology is/will be capable of hijacking anything digital, so nuclear annihilation is a possible outcome . Lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs) are already out there and will become way more advanced. Imagine if we would use this in a war. We could lose control of the machines. Sad to say, our downfall is not the only risk. These machines could also be used to grab control.
Total control
I assume you know about China's social credit system. It's a great indicator of how things will be in the future. In China, everybody is being observed and traced. Now I don't have a problem with that. I worry about who's going to write the laws.
It's not a secret that his technology can be used to keep us all in line. Everybody has a smartphone these days. So it’s not far-fetched to think that it’ll be used to monitor us all. Imagine a world where we’re not allowed to speak our minds. I’m a free speech absolutist and to me that sounds like hell. And who can you trust?
In a hyper controlled society, nobody trusts anybody because they’re afraid of people telling on them. This is already the case in China. We’re talking about a major psychological impact on the average citizen. Freedom will become a distant thought of desire while others play with their power. Again, dystopian shenanigans.
Globalization
I think the entire world has to unite to prevent our downfall. We should strive for globalization. We shouldn’t go to war with this technology. But I know it is already happening. They always have the good shit behind the scenes and that frightens me; because mainstream AI is already getting pretty advanced .
We need a worldwide AI governance agency. (WAIGA sounds alright to be honest).
AI experts will have to sit together in order to create safety laws. This way, we can experiment with AI in a safe way. We also need a team of psychologists and ethics experts to calculate the risk of bringing something new on the market. Otherwise, you’re going to have products that are a threat to our mental health.
WAIGA needs to be transparent about AI’s most recent capabilities at all times so we can all be aware of what is happening. The people deserve the truth. We have to handle it. How else are we going to achieve this goal together? Everyone should have the right to join the discussion, but we must put more energy into educating people about the consequences. An educated world will behave more responsible than an uneducated world. Especially in times of crisis.
Globalization is pretty difficult to achieve because all cultures differ so much. We can’t force everybody to think the same so it’s a complicated situation. But in this case, the risk should be enough to come to an agreement. This technology calls for peace.
Capitalist dystopia.
Is this a possible outcome? I think it’s a phase.
It’s a complicated situation. We have a system that supports economic growth rather than social progress. Experts are expressing their worries, but the people in charge don't listen. It's a race for money and it can't be stopped. We’re heading towards a capitalist dystopia.
The world around us is influencing our standards so it's going to have a serious social impact if we don't do anything soon. People will become dependent on AI and this will create more problems. Perfect for a revenue model, but disastrous for our mental health.
As dependency grows, so does the potential for control. And not only that.
People will lose their jobs. In our capitalist society built on superficial standards, it’s already hard to be poor; It’s a struggle to get your basic needs and nobody listens to you because you’re unsuccessful. This will again, have a serious impact on mental health. Children are going to grow up in a world where AI can do anything, while we still don’t know anything about the consequences. This will potentially scar future generations. People tend to get sad and unmotivated if they don’t have a drive. And we are killing that drive by making this world a hell. How are we going to solve that with AI? Do we really have to see the consequences?
We have the ability to think.
So capitalism is not going to work (only in a heavily controlled environment). But let's face it. Capitalism never cared about the wellbeing of the people.
Communist society
I think this is the most likely outcome (if we don’t blow ourselves up). Since everyone can use AI to do anything, services become worthless and jobs become obsolete. This will have a serious impact on society. If we’re not forced to work by some dictator, we’ll see a change in vision.
It all depends on what’s going to happen. I think there are good and bad outcomes to this one. It depends on how we all see the world and who’s in charge. It could lead to a basic income or forced labor. In an ideal situation, we would have a system that supports freedom but limits the commercial use of AI.

1. My Take

I’ve got mixed feelings about the current situation, but I tend to be pessimistic. We can’t even get along in the streets, so it’s silly to think we can solve the AI issue. War still exists just because some people want more power and there’s nothing we can do about it. To solve this problem we have to come to an agreement on multiple levels, but the people are not ready.
I think this will either result in our extinction or total control(if we go on like this).
I think there is a very small chance it will end well. We could keep our freedom if everybody starts thinking alike. We need to stop acting from emotion and start thinking rationally. Because rationally, we can come to a compromise. There is always a middle line.
I think AI can be regulated to keep us safe, mentally and physically; if we listen to the experts. But even if we succeed, it's not without risk.
AI has the power to find patterns at an incredible speed. This will lead to more scientific discoveries. We might even figure out the brain. And that is where the real danger lies.
The bigger the system grows the more disastrous the results of its breakdown will be.
But to be honest, we can’t even handle a tool like the internet. Everybody is “educating” themselves without checking sources and we’ve already seen how this can go wrong. We create romanticized representations of ourselves to show other people how well we’re doing. And we lose ourselves in it. We get stuck in algorithms that keep us in an echo chamber, only showing us one side of the story. And that’s just scratching the surface. We aren’t ready for AI.
The internet has great potential to bring us together, but it just doesn’t work if you want to share a vision. It has turned into a dopamine machine rather than a forum.
Instant gratification is the only thing that matters. Consume, consume, consume. And even if there are a few that listen, it’s not enough. And you know it…
It’s not worth writing a proper manifesto. People only pay attention if it’s sensational.
So Ted,
As I said, this might be considered radical; but I want to know your take on the situation so I can maybe publish it. Something controversial has to happen to get the message out there. This world is creating terrorists, and I’ve personally felt how this happens. I still don’t approve of killing people, but you were right to some degree. I think it is important to keep the conversation open to everyone. Excluding people based on their beliefs is harmful to our society. An innovative voice can come from anywhere. Just because somebody is wrong on one topic doesn’t mean they’re always wrong. I hope you don’t mind talking about this subject. You don’t have to go in depth. Even a brief response would mean the world to me.
I hope the pen is mightier than the bomb.
Peace,
Kjelt
P.S. Don't send me a bomb; that's kinda cliché. 🙂

TLDR: I resign my obsession with IQ and can with reasonable certainty estimate it to be 140±5. I have become more confident in my academic and professional endeavors and have this subreddit to thank for it.
This post is in fairly stark contrast to the reigning homebody of this subreddit, 'HardStuckBronzeRank' (no hate though - got nothing but love for you buddy).
I started this journey in late-2021 to overcome my nervousness around cognitive testing, and it's been a great ride. Throughout my time here, I have taken approx. 40-50 different tests with the results averaging around 141-142.
I have talked to multiple interesting profiles from this subreddit and learned a lot about intelligence in the process. Similarly, it has certainly been entertaining to engage in discussions with like-minded, as well as 'un'-like-minded, people on the topic of intelligence, albeit being an investment that yields very little outside of this subreddit.
During this time, I have become significantly more confident in my cognitive abilities and it has shown in my academic achievements, and more recently in my full-time job. It has created a more deep-seated calm when facing complex problems and has allowed me to find substantial joy in trying to solve them.
All of this, both academically and professionally, would not have turned out this way, were it not for this subreddit, the tests, and the people. So, thank you all!
I do hope that other people share this experience, and I hope that the people who don't can recognize the hidden gem that this subreddit truly is.
​
Now onto some anecdotal data on practice effect, or lack thereof:
Unless you take the same test repeatedly, you really shouldn't worry about practice effect inflating your results too much. You'd be best off disposing of this term before it turns your new-found testing hobby into full-blown masochistic OCD. If you accept its premise, you will literally NEVER be satisfied with your results.
Below are the more recognizable/reliable tests I've taken throughout my time on this subreddit, which should help anecdotally support my point:
​
Late 2021 to early 2022, when I just started testing:
Mensa Finland: 140 - first test taken
Numerus Basic: 130
ICAR60: 141-145
PDIT: 146
EqusB high-range matrix tests: 141 & 144
​
Mid- to late 2022:
Mensa Wonderlic: 142
Psy-Q Raven's-like test: +139 (25/25)
CAIT: 145-147
OpenPsychometrics: 141
FRT-A Mensa Admission: +135
​
Early to mid-2023, when my obsession was tapering off:
Hagen Matrices: 145
BRGHT: 136-143 (renormed)
Lumosity: 141-142 (99.7th percentile)
JCTI: 142 - last test taken

Hiya folks,
Just recently moved to Portsmouth and had a couple of drunk guys talk to me about my accent. I'm from Aberdeen but Dundee came up in conversation and I'm going to quote exactly what they said (bare in mind they were plastered);
"What is it about Dundee voices and deep? Something about duke and their voices go all deep and gravely?"
Duke? What the hell? I asked if they meant jute (jam and journalism) multiple times but they insisted it was duke/juke. Fella then proceeded to roleplay as someone typing at a desk and told me to come up and say "wow this duke is wonderful".
I've been googling non-stop for the past 20 hours trying to find what he could be talking about - my partner is from Arbroath and has no idea, I'm obviously Aberdonian and only lived in Dundee for a year so I've no clue. Is this some type of English stereotype of Dundonians that exists?

hello! i'm looking for a genuine and loving monogamous relationship. i'm looking for someone who's honest, caring, loyal etc. someone who is willing to invest time and effort into the relationship, as well as being a good communicator. i'd like to emphasize that i don't want someone who's still carrying emotional baggage behind.
i desire meaningful and intimate quality time together so i'd want someone willing to do video/voice calls if you happen to be far away or you can always just come here! i don't want something entirely online.
i'm currently in university. during my free time i like to hang out with my friends, gym, or just watch netflix. i love horrothriller movies although they're usually shit! ok idk what else to say.

In the last book, the Lady of the drowned empire it says that Lyr is Ashera? But then she hears ashera's voice and refers to her as a seperate person which doesn't make sense?

oculusquest will be joining in on the June 12th-14th protest of Reddit's API changes that will essentially kill all 3rd party Reddit apps.

As many of you are already aware, Reddit has announced significant changes to their API, the tool that allows third-party apps to interact with Reddit's platform that will have a serious impact to many users. There is currently a planned protest across hundreds of subreddits to black out on June 12th.
Third Party reddit apps (such as Apollo, Reddit is Fun, Sync, and others) are going to become significantly more expensive for their developers to run, which will in turn either kill the apps, or result in a monthly fee to the users if they choose to use one of those apps to browse. Put simply, each request to reddit within these mobile apps will cost the developer money. The developers of Apollo were quoted around $2 million per month for the current rate of usage. The only way for these apps to continue to be viable for the developer is if you (the user) pay a monthly fee, and realistically, this is most likely going to just outright kill them. Put simply: If you use a third party app to browse reddit, you will most likely no longer be able to do so, or be charged a monthly fee to keep it viable. Apollo, Reddit is Fun, Sync have announced that they will be shutting down June 30, 2023
This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free.
As well, NSFW Content is no longer going to be available in the API. This means that, even if 3rd party apps continue to survive, or even if you pay a fee to use a 3rd party app, you will not be able to access NSFW content on it. You will only be able to access it on the official reddit app. Additionally, some service bots (such as video downloaders or maybe remindme bots) will not be able to access anything NSFW. In more major cases, it may become harder for moderators of NSFW subreddits to combat serious violations such as CSAM due to certain mod tools being restricted from accessing NSFW content.
Many users with visual impairments rely on 3rd-party applications in order to more easily interface with reddit, as the official reddit mobile app does not have robust support for visually-impaired users. Reddit is saying “non-commercial, accessibility-focused apps and tools will continue to have free access. We’re working with apps like RedReader and Dystopia and a few others to ensure they can continue to access the Data API.” RedReader granted non-commercial accessibility exemption

What can you do as a user?

• Voice your concerns respectfully. Message the mods of /reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
  
• Spread the word. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join the coordinated mod effort at /ModCoord.
  
• Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, join us over on the VR Discord
  
• Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible.
  

What can you do as a moderator?

• Join the coordinated effort over at /ModCoord
  
• Make a sticky post showing your support, A template has been created here you can use or modify to your liking, and be sure to crosspost it to /ModCoord.
  

Thank you for your patience in the matter,
oculusquest Mod Team

Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to a computer system that can perform tasks that would typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation. In recent years, AI has become increasingly popular, and as a result, many organizations have developed AI-powered tools to help automate a range of tasks and processes. In this article, we will define what AI tools are and discuss some of the various categories of AI tools currently available.
Presentation
AI tools come in many different shapes and sizes, but they all share one common goal: to help humans perform tasks more efficiently and effectively. Some of the most commonly used AI tools include chatbots, virtual assistants, and robotic process automation (RPA) software. Chatbots are computer programs designed to simulate human conversation and provide automated customer support. They can be used to answer customer inquiries, book appointments, and even sell products and services. Virtual assistants, such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, are AI-powered software that can perform tasks based on voice commands. These assistants can help with a range of tasks, from setting reminders to making phone calls. RPA software, on the other hand, is designed to automate repetitive and manual tasks, such as data entry, invoicing, and customer service.
Another category of AI tools is machine learning (ML) software, which uses algorithms to analyze large sets of data and identify patterns or insights that would be difficult for humans to detect. ML is used in a wide range of applications, from fraud detection to image recognition. For example, Google's image search engine uses ML to recognize and categorize images based on their content.
In addition to ML, natural language processing (NLP) is another category of AI tools. NLP software is designed to understand and interpret human language, allowing organizations to communicate with customers more effectively. NLP tools can be used to create chatbots and virtual assistants, as well as to analyze customer feedback and sentiment analysis.
Conclusion
In conclusion, AI tools are computer programs that can help organizations perform tasks more efficiently and effectively. There are many different categories of AI tools, including chatbots, virtual assistants, RPA software, ML software, and NLP software. As AI continues to evolve and improve, we can expect to see even more innovative AI tools in the future. These tools have the potential to transform the way businesses operate and provide new and exciting opportunities for organizations to improve their operations.

For context: I'm a 21 year-old university student living in Ottawa.
For as long as I can remember, Canada's been considered by many around the world to be a safe haven for 2SLGBTQ+ folks. We were the first in North America to have gay marriage and transition rights, and our society in general has been mostly free of the homophobia found south of the border.
When I came out just two years ago, I was welcomed and accepted by a vibrant gay community in Ottawa where I felt safe to be open about myself. When I first met my bf last year, I had no hesitation expressing my feelings for him in public, and I proudly posted about my relationship online with little fear of my friends reacting negatively.
However since 2023 started, I've become increasingly worried that the progress the Canadian gay community has enjoyed is being stripped away and reversed by right-wing conservatism spreading from the US.
The homophobia I witnessed during the 2022 trucking convoy is now common within Canadian society, and more right-wing politicians are getting elected in every province.
My turning point came yesterday at a protest outside a schoolboard office in Ottawa where right-wing protesters destroyed pride flags and attacked counter protesters.
When I saw the violent protests happening in L.A. last week, I thought that homophobia like that could never happen in Canada.
Well all of that has changed, and I'm genuinely scared to be openly gay in public. I might not even go to Ottawa pride with my bf, as I'm not in a position to physically defend myself from a possible terrorist attack.
What the fuck is happening to Canada?
I used to be proud of my country, but now I'm close to leaving.

I've seen these excuses thrown around in various place on the Internet like twitter and it just bugs me.
"Play it with friends".

1. Not everyone has the friends to play this game with, or said friends having the time or access to play the game with you.
2. By default you can play the game alone, but shouldn't playing it alone still be fun?
3. Almost anything can be more fun if you play it with friends.

"Just install mods".

1. Not everyone has access to mods whether they play on console, or on Bedrock (Java mods are WAY WAY BETTER than the Bedrock marketplace)
2. It requires a bit of research to get into. It's not hard, but you still have to look into it, plus Curseforge did recently have a security breech
3. It's the job of the company to develop a quality product they deliver to the customer, not the community's job to improve it. This would be like excusing flaws in Skyrim because there's a mod that makes dragons less annoying.

"If you find the game boring, it's because you lack imagination"

1. This is just pure projection. It's possible to try and do a lot of creative stuff in Minecraft and still find it a boring game. I have built mob farms, mansions, a cathedral that encloses the giant natural spawning nether portals, yet I still find flaws in its core gameplay loop.
2. Redstone and automation isn't taught in the game and is an unintuitive system for new players. How likely are you to learn everything about automation with various kinds of farms and logistics by only playing the game? Odds are most people just look at a tutorial and follow the construction step by step. What's creative about that? It's like instead of learning how to code, you copypaste stuff from stack overflow.
3. Sandbox games don't have to only rely on self imposed goals. Minecraft isn't like gmod, because you still have survival mechanics like enemies, hunger, crafting and resource gathering. But a lot of the mechanics don't really tie in that deeply to the core gameplay loop. Beds just easily destroy the threat of night and villages can easily supply you food. Factorio is also a sandbox game but core gameplay concepts and mechanics like automation, space management and using belts, vs rails, vs bots always have the player actively engage with them with more of a challenge.
4. Self imposed challenges are always going to more shallow than an actually hand crafted challenge. Hardcore makes it so you only have one life, but it doesn't fix all of the problems. You still have beds easily delete the threat of night, you can still find villages, combat is always going to be "hit them before they get close to you", and the Enderdragon is still going to be same old boss. It's like with Pokemon nuzlocke, how it doesn't change how gyms make it obvious which pokemon type they'll use.
5. Finally it's just insulting and toxic to assume people lack imagination because they don't like the game you like. What does it say about the Minecraft community when some people just resort to personal insults when responding to people voicing their opinion on this game? This would be like responding to someone saying they found a game's difficulty to be unfair, and then you call them an idiot.

​

I purchased a 2022 Honda Civic from a dealership in Southern California last March. I live in Norther California so I have been the car serviced at another dealership nearby my place. Couple months ago, a warning for adaptive cruise control failure popped up on my dashboard and has been there since then. Since I never use the cruise control, I figured I'd just wait till I get my car serviced again to get it checked out.
My car recently hit 15000 miles so last week I took my car in for service (oil change) and was told that the express service guys can't help me look at the problem with the cruise control so the adviser scheduled a regular service for me this Saturday. After the express service last week, I was told that my rear shock absorbers are leaking also and they will look at it when I bring it in today.
I brought my car to the dealer to get it checked out today, and was told that the rear shock absorbers that's leaking don't fall under the warranty. I asked the adviser that since the part isn't supposed to fail within a year and half and 15000 miles why is it not covered? I was essentially told that since the part isn't supposed to fail that quickly I must have done something to break it so it isn't covered. By that logic what is the point of having warranty? If any part fails they can just cliam "oh it isn't supposed to fail so you must have done something and borke it:"
For issue with the adaptive cruise control, they told me that they need to do a diagnostics to figure out which part is causing the issue. If the part that's causing the issue falls under warrnty and they'll fix it for free. If not, they are going to charge me $210 for just the diagnostics alone.
I was also told that the extended warranty I had purchased from the from the SoCal dealership is through a third party and that third party isn't a partner with the NorCal Honda so it's basically useless.
I left my car at the dealership to do the diagnostics and I am waitinfg for them to call me back. I am just so frustrated with this whole situation and I need some advice on how I should proceed. If they call me back and tells me the part that is causing the adaptive cruise control to fail doesn't fall under warranty what should I do? Also what can I do about the whole third party extended warranty situation?
I apologize for the long post and any help is appreciated!

It’s not really important to detail everything of the next few weeks, word did spread that the Walkers were leaving again, of course, there was no way to keep that secret. Packing had to be done, after all, and arrangements for the house had to be made.
There was simply no way to keep our going ‘completely quiet’. So the neighbors started to come by asking questions.
“Should we leave too?”
“Am I going to end up with more bits of shrapnel in my kitchen?”
“Do I need to get more stuff to patch bullet holes?”
“I assume we go to the same hotel as last time, or will it be a different one?”
It was frequent enough that we held another ‘neighborhood barbecue’ where William explained over sizzling meat and a mix of real beer and that abomination to all civilized species ‘non-alcoholic beer’ that, “You are in no danger. We are leaving for a government assignment, but it is not one that puts any of you at anymore risk than yesterday or the day before. I promise, there won’t be any crazy masked gunmen showing up and disturbing the peace.”
William’s reputation was one of truthfulness, and it probably didn’t hurt that making sure the neighbors were safe had been a priority last time.
‘Last time… for the sake of the void… how many shenanigans are we supposed to get involved in?’ I asked myself that question while sipping on a very large ‘wood bottle’. This was a wonderful innovation in alcoholic beverages. Instead of ‘glass’ this ‘wood’ actually added a wonderful earthiness to the beer, making it smoother and far more full bodied than the glass counterpart.
It had its drawbacks, of course, if you didn’t want that added flavor, you had to use glass, but I found it to be positively delectable, if a little ‘thicker’ than my usual preferences.
I had a great fondness for ales, particularly the more ‘aggressive’ ones with an immediate sort of bite to them. They weren’t to be ‘chugged’ like the bland and fizzy ones that had all the kick of a sleeping toddler. No, no, these powerful ones were meant to be ‘swigged’. You take one big swig at a time, savor the richness, the full flavor, the taste, and the feel of it going down.
It’s about here I should mention that ‘beer clubs’ and ‘bourbon buddies’ were starting to gain popularity among dlamisa.
It began with the Ballyball League of Earth and Dlamias. As part of their training for the sport, teams ‘ran’ a great deal, and they learned of an ancient Earth organization that survived through the centuries called the Hash House Harriers, ‘drinkers with a running problem’ as they are popularly known.
These organizations around the world would lay out trails and follow them in search of alcohol at various stopping points. They would drink together and have a grand old time, and be rather intoxicated by the end of it all. From this my people innovated various ‘fan clubs’ for certain alcohol organizations that would sponsor their runs in exchange for filming their gatherings.
Naturally I set up a few gambling options for people to bet on my players during training, but out of these grew specific off-field rivalries which were now starting to spread to my home world, usually run out of coffee establishments.
This might be the thing that made someone decide to put me at risk. I will probably never know the answer to that one.
It didn’t matter. Not really.
I was standing there among my friends, family, neighbors, with warmth and welcome, with the smell of good food cooking and people wishing me well on my ‘business trip’ and I knew I was doing the right thing.
This was the reason, this was the point of it all, to bring ‘this’ not just to me, but to everybody.
Every drop of blood that spread in my arena, every credit that flowed into my exponentially growing cooperative organization… all of it was serving this single purpose. ‘I will see my will done. I will bring it all down.’ I vowed and took another swig from my bottle. Latunde was telling a joke, and I huffed politely.
A good man, a good neighbor. And a surprisingly good actor considering he ran a feed store, his pretend police situation when we were making our evacuation a few years ago was really well done.
But I couldn’t pay attention to jokes right then.
I went back into the house and up to Fauve’s room. I knocked, “Come in.” She answered.
I expected this, she was never particularly social, and didn’t care for large gatherings of people. I still wasn’t the biggest fan of those, but…alcohol makes everything much easier.
“Hi.” I said, poking my head in without entering. “How are you?”
She was seated at her terminal, pounding away at ‘nothing’. But she had a virtual headset on so there was ‘something’ to her.
“Fine. I’m just taking care of some things. Writing out some notes, researching the Praeda species that we’re going to meet, writing my will, breaking up with my girlfriend, the usual sort of thing that happens every…single…time I think life is going to finally come out of warp and let us relax.” She said it with such deadpan humor that I almost missed it.
“I’m sorry.” I said and slipped into the room, closing the door behind me, I went and sat down on her bed.
“For what? You didn’t do anything wrong.” Fauve answered, though she didn’t take her attention off her work. “This is just more of the usual, and if anybody is to blame, it’s me. I could have faded into the background. I could have just let everything go back to normal. I could have just shut my mouth after everything was over the first time… but no. I didn’t. I didn’t and now I can’t have a moment’s peace or normalcy. I had to be media personality, a speaker, a filmmaker a….” She trailed off and slapped her palms down on the desk. “I did this to myself. Now I’m going to be alone again because I just can’t say no. Michael is going to lose years with his friends. You’re being thrown back into god knows what, mom and dad are… no, they’re fine, to them this will be a vacation, if anything.” She sighed.
“My point is, Bailey, you don’t have anything to apologize for. I’m just, I’m stressed out a little.” Fauve said to me and I swallowed hard and nodded.
“I know what you mean.” I said, I chose not to mention the pseudo-attempt on my life, but added, “This is a disruption to my life too, and… a lot of things are going to change, even if things go well, maybe ‘especially’ if they do.” I got up and went to put my hand on her shoulder.
Fauve leaned back, rocking her chair so that it hit my waist, her head was against my fur, “And I don’t think I did anything wrong here but… I’m sorry that things aren’t as easy for you as you deserve. I mean that.” I promised.
She cracked a smile beneath her headset.
“Yeah, yeah, well it’s not like space is boring. No human has ever been out that far before, so we get to be a first… but even so? I’m tired of having to end relationships over work. It happened with Halbert, it happened with… wait… has it ever not happened that way?” Fauve stopped and thought that over.
I wasn’t surprised she referenced her first romantic interest. Humans tend to template all later relationships on the basis of their earlier ones, and Fauve tended to be hyperfocusd on what she was engaged in at any given moment, so I wasn’t surprised that she would never have really looked at how something over ‘played out’ in the end. Not until she had a reason to.
“Wow… yeah… everything always ended because of something work related… if not mine, then theirs. Damn.” She sighed as that understanding hit home.
Humans have in my observations, a tendency to blind themselves to what is happening, they don’t always see underlying causes for what goes awry in their lives, and as such they may miss patterns that will not be missed by other species. It makes them interesting to be around, at least.
“I’m taking a long vacation when I get back.” She promised herself and slumped. “Maybe I should sell the rights to that game series and turn my attention to something new… I…” Fauve shook her head, “Bailey, do you think it’s possible to be too career focused?”
I squeezed my hand on her shoulder a little nad cocked my head. “You’re asking me that question? Fauve, I came here on a fifty year doctoral program, I’m the last person you should ask that question.”
She was quiet for a moment before she quipped, “Alright, that’s fair. But after this is over, I’m definitely taking a break. Maybe I’ll just rewrite this breakup note and explain that because of work that we need to ‘go on a break’ no questions asked after I get back.”
It was of course possible that the other person would ‘move on’ and there was nothing to come back to when Fauve did return, however this did leave the possibility open at least. “I think that’s wise.” I said with a gentle voice.
“You should invite them to Waterland Park with everybody else.” I suggested, but Fauve shook her head.
“No. No. I have to face this one on my own. If I can walk in there and walk past that place without a problem, on my own, I can finally put the last bit of that bastard behind me.” She said it with such iron resolve that it was hard for me to imagine she wouldn’t be able to do it.
“You won’t be alone, you know that.” I reminded her.
She smiled again.
“That’s not quite what I mean, Bailey… but thank you. I still have some work to do here, but, would you be a friend and bring me a beer while I finish this up… and maybe a hamburger?” She asked.
“Sure thing, Fauve.” I said, and left her room again.

For starts, I just want to say that as an animal lover, I was really excited to come here. A faith-based zoo where I was sure the animals were well taken care of. I read some negative Google reviews after getting home, though, and saw the way the director, Laura, is responding to them, acting holier-than-thou, and blaming only the person reviewing it for their bad experiences. Unless she just copies and pastes a response like she has a few times before.
I'll start with some light-hearted complaints. It is nearly impossible to walk around this place without breaking your ankle or hurting yourself. In order to get to the animals, you have to step off of the already-hilly path and try your best not to slip. So those that are in wheelchairs or electric scooters are not going to be able to reach them. There were literally no benches along the path to sit down on. I feel bad for those that are overweight and/or those that have trouble walking long distances without having to take a break. There are no signs outside of the gates telling you how hilly it is, and you don't really find out until after you already pay. We chose to do the VIP experience, and we were told to be outside of the building 5 minutes before it started, but we ended up waiting over 20 minutes. Literally everyone was complaining, and the worker was shocked to see how un-excited everyone was.
Now, here's the deeper reason why this zoo is so bad. The director doesn't believe that animals can feel sadness. The director of a zoo actually believes that. She repeats it multiple times on reviews where people claim the animals look sad because their cages are too small. Their cages ARE too small, and have little to no shade. "The animals are content." Oh, but if animals can't feel human emotion then what makes they're content? The director also says that the animals have no rights, that their needs don't go above anyone else's, and that they raise their animals for meat. Yes, you read all of that correctly. Source: https://911animalabuse.com/promised-land-zoo/
That article has proof of everything wrong this zoo has done. What that article doesn't include, though, is the fact that a baboon also escaped its enclosure in 2022 so they decided to shoot it three times with a rifle. You can read that article here: https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/2022/08/11/escaped-baboon-shot-killed-promised-land-zoo-branson-mo/10283510002/
Honestly, the responses to the negative Google reviews speaks for itself. Reading the articles above will be a big eye-opener to anyone reading this that is thinking about visiting this zoo. I pray that these people running the zoo will have a change of heart, so they put their animals needs first, since apparently they don't already.

Hi there, around 10 years ago I saw a great short film that starts with the protagonist in an empty grocery store with a really quiet feeling with I think news reports in the back that something is going on, at home he notices that the door was open and that his wife doesn’t seem to be there, after that he does hear her from upstairs but when he goes to her he sees a giant bat that is just mimicking her voice… lots of details missing but I can’t find that one sadly, would like to watch it again and show to my girlfriend, maybe someone can help? :)