Pricing up genuine brakes for my Lexus and it's not so bad for the discs / pads. Some of the little niche fitting kit parts are what add up. The way I look at it, a Toyota or Lexus is only reliable and long lasting, so long as it's made up of Toyota / Lexus parts - otherwise what is the point? This is the first Lexus I've owned and as such, I feel like the need for cheaping out, or opting for budget parts / tyres / etc is a bit less understandable. Especially since genuine parts are most of the time, Toyota parts, which themselves are quite reasonable.
I've owned Fiat's and Citroen's (very much normal cars, not luxury brands) and some of the pricing there for the factory recommended oil brand, grade and parts are so high, that you rarely find them used even in dealer servicing and brake jobs, all prices quoted are aftermarket 'approved' parts, then you get quoted nearly double for genuine parts and advised that they're 'not worth it'. With those cars I always used the aftermarket parts from the same brands who made the factory OEM stamped parts (e.g. MANN-FILTER or Bosch). The parts come from the same place, yes, but the Toyota batch tested ones getting the OEM stamp on the part are surely still that bit more reliable / high quality as why would the manufacturers risk a poor quality batch going to the car factories / inventories? I paid £40 for a bulb on my last Toyota, even though the same brand was available locally (I can't remember if it was OSRAM or Phillips) for £22. The one from the dealer came in the genuine box, had Toyota and either the OSRAM or Phillips logo on it. I see value in getting only the parts good enough to make it to Toyota's warehouses / dealerships.
Do you use genuine parts? Why or why not?

I need a bit of feedback here- I have other trading accounts and opened an account with IB to trade in Germany in Euro. I tried asking the help desk but they never seem to understand my questions so perhaps you guys can/ will help...

1. I want real-time data for the German exchanges so unfortunately have to subscribe (or are there other options)? Every other broker I have gives you Level 1 for free so I was a bit shocked regarding this matter...unfortunately I have no other brokerage options for the German markets at this time (it is complicated).
   
2. Is there a way to setup trader workstation so that I can quickly access the German market quotes and it does not always seem to default to the US markets if trying to quickly check a chart? I always have to scroll down to FWB or Stuttgart and I lose time. Perhaps there is a setting?
   
3. I populated my watch list but then it seems to not ever save my new items. Anyone else having this issue?
   
4. German tax situation- is there a default setting when I put that I live in Germany so it defaults to the German taxation system in the reporting documents?
   
5. In trader workstation- anyone having issues with this? More specifically, is this only available with populated data after I purchase the real-time data?
   

Thank you!

I'll preface this by saying I did not leave the place 100% clean. I did start cleaning but just ran out of time unfortunately. As a result I am willing to pay some money.
The place is a 1 bed 1 bath flat in Hertfordshire. I've been quoted £310 by the property management company for the following works (in their words):

•  Livingroom, Bedroom & Hallway are all very dusty and have cobwebs in every corner and on all of the skirting boards . (Although the property is being decorated the decorators are unable to decorate whilst the webs and dust remain) 

•  The Kitchen hasn’t been cleaned, there are grease marks over all cupboards units internally and externally and all the shelves (pictures below), the cooker and extractor fan are also greasy and need cleaning. 

•  The Kitchen worktop and floor need cleaning, as well as lime scale removed from the tap. 

•  The freezer needs to be defrosted, and the Fridge wiped out. 

•  The washing machine front, drawer and rubber seal need cleaning as well as the tumble dryer front. 

•  The Bathroom, toilet, basin, bath, taps, shower head & hose need cleaning/ descaling. The floor needs cleaning also. 

I don't really dispute these, except that the taps, toilet and bath have already been cleaned and any further descaling etc required is very, very minimal.
However, £310 seems absolutely mental for wiping a bit of dust away, clearing out some cobwebs, wiping down the surfaces, cleaning the floors and descaling some taps that are already descaled. Defrosting the freezer is not an active job. This is likely to be probably 4 hours work at absolute most.
I will also say that they're making a big deal out of a flat which if you actually saw it (I can't seem to attach photos on the Reddit app...) actually looks quite clean. In their photos they've zoomed in on cobwebs and grease stains but in my photos you can see thay the flat is 90% there.
Is it worth entering arbitration here or shall I just eat the cost? I was expecting something more in the region of £150. I'm about to go on holiday so it would be useful to know when this needs to be resolved by so I can plan accordingly.
Thanks in advance!

Last week, I found myself sitting in front of a laptop, staring blankly at a messy pile of research notes, ideas, and half-written sentences. My task? To draft a coherent, convincing, and engaging article for my blog.
My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, and my attention was all over the place. Imagine a table full of scattered jigsaw puzzle pieces, with no clue where to start (that's my brain at that moment!). The anxiety was creeping up, and deadline fast approaching.
Then, I remembered a technique I had learned about a while ago: mind mapping. The idea is to visually structure your thoughts, which can help increase focus and attention. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I decided to give it a spin.
I started with the main theme of my article in the center of a blank paper, and began to draw branches that represented the sub-topics, which further split into specific points, arguments, quotes, etc. It was like an unfolding flower, each petal a new idea. The more I drew, the clearer my thoughts became. Suddenly, I was no longer lost in a sea of scattered puzzle pieces. The pieces had connected, forming a clear picture.
To my surprise, my attention improved significantly. I could draw connections easily, see where my argument was weak, and identify gaps that needed filling. It was like watching a magic trick, where a seemingly chaotic situation transformed into an organized, understandable format right before my eyes.
From that day onwards, mind mapping has become my go-to strategy whenever I’m struggling with focus and attention. It’s a lifesaver, really. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, don't hesitate to give it a try!
P.S: Okay, okay!! Before you go Googling to find my supposedly famous blog, let me spill the beans. This was a hypothetical scenario, guys! It was just to paint a picture of how you can use mind mapping in real life to boost your attention. But hey, don't be surprised if you do find a famous blog by me someday! ;)

This is a very long story so please bear with me
I was with my first love for 2 and a bit years, we met in late 2010 and we did briefly break up in 2012 but got back in 2013 before we broke up 10 years ago in early 2014. We were young and in our early 20s back then, things just fizzled out and at the time she said the spark had gone.
I've always thought about her but eventually we went our separate ways, she got in to a relationship with another guy after me for a few years but eventually he ended up cheating on her, this was around 2017.
After her breakup in 2017 I confessed my feelings for her but we didn't go anywhere with it as she was still healing so I told her I need to cut her off at the point because I told her I was struggling to be just friends with her, to which she said that she was heartbroken that's it come to us parting ways. But we wished each other well and went our separate ways. I was really at my lowest at that point but have come a really long way since in terms of having a successful career and have improved a lot financially and mentally.
At the start of 2019, she did add me on social media but she didn't say anything to me so a few days later I ended up deleting her because I realised I still wasn't over her, I regretted deleting her afterwards.
At the end of 2019 I heard that she was engaged, she ended up getting married but then I heard she got divorced around over 2 years ago. A few monthds ago I found out that the reason for her divorce was because her husband cheated on her and was abusive towards her. They got divorced around early 2022. Her ex husband is already engaged and due to get married again this summer.
As for me I did get in to another relationship with someone else but I was also cheated on so I have been single for a few years now, I have been evolving in my career and proud of how far I've come and have recently started a new chapter in my career. I considered getting in touch with her last year but I noticed that she had cut off a lot of people from her social media so I wasnt too sure how she'd react to me adding her, I thought she'd reject me seen as she's cutting off a lot of people.
So around 4 months ago I took the plunge seen as I had nothing to lose and sent her a request on instagram, and she had accepted and also followed me back. She's been viewing my stories and I posted a life quote on my story which she liked, I haven't spoke to her yet. I posted a few pictures of myself which she hasn't liked but on occasions I posted a quote on my story that said 'be the reason for someone's pain to turn into a smile', she liked that quote and also another one that I posted similar to that. It was my birthday a few months ago and she liked a birthday story that I posted on instagram.
I'm assuming she is single but not entirely sure. I added her 4 months ago but now she has deleted me, I was confused because she only liked one of my stories a day prior to deleting me. At the time of her deletion, i was on holiday performing umrah. I would have liked to see if there was future for us but don't think she's interested now, i have messaged her after she deleted me saying 'Hi, hope your well. I probably should have said something a long time ago but I didn't, my fault. I've been praying for you, today I realise I've been deleted anyways I hope your keeping happy and healthy'. She replied saying 'Hey I'm good thanks hope you are too, that is kind of you, I didn't expect this kind of message'.
I didn't really know what to say back to her, I still don't understand why she deleted me even though days before she was showing an interest in my stories before and now she's deleted me. I replied saying 'that's good. Sorry for catching you off guard with it, I wanted to reach out to you earlier. I'm glad your doing well though' and then she has replied back saying 'can I ask why?' I replied back saying 'It's been on my mind for a while to get back in touch with you, I didn't add you for no reason. But we don't need to if it's not something your comfortable with'. She then sent a long message that said 'You don’t make me feel uncomfortable. I have thought about you over the years and wished you well. I am really happy that you have also been called to do umrah and i hope it changes your life the same way it did mine.
I removed you because you have my ex and his family on your instagram and I removed everyone who has any contact with them. You will have heard that I was married there for a short period of time but it was hell and now I’m out of it I don’t want them knowing anything about my life, so I removed everyone who has any link with them. I didn’t realise till that day that you did. It was nothing to do with you personally.' .
Im not actually friends with her ex husband as he is just someone that lives nearby to me and we have never spoken so I replied with this: 'I'm sorry that you had to go through that, I hope your okay and I pray god brings you ease. I wouldn't exactly say I have anything to do with them personally though, only thing I know about them is that they're from my area too. It makes sense now and it's understandable why you did that.'
She replied back again saying 'I'm great, God is the best of planners and it was the best thing for me. Even so, I removed everyone who had us both so sorry about that' and to which I replied 'That's fair enough, I'm glad to hear your doing well though and that your at peace now. That's what matters most'. She then asked 'how have you been, what's new with you?' I replied saying 'I'm not too bad thanks, life's changed a lot since we last spoke so there's quite a lot that's new lol'. after that we were speaking generally about the holiday that I was on and what to do as she has been hlfor umrah before too and she also asked how long I'm there for and she asked who ive gone with and how long im on holiday for, it was in general a short and civilised conversation and the conversation happened whilst i was still deleted.
Towards the end of the conversation she said 'well i hope you have a lovely time 😊' and i replied with thank you and asked her when she was on holiday here, she replied saying that she went last November and the year before so then i replied saying 'oh nice, its good to go often. Need to make it a yearly thing' She ended the conversation nearly 5 weeks ago by liking that last message i sent, I don't know if she plans to message me again, What are the chances that she'll message me even if we don't follow each other on instagram anymore. I am slightly anxious that she won't message me after this due to her deleting me because her ex is on my Instagram.
Was thinking of just giving her space for a few more days, then deleting her ex and requesting her back in around in a few days bear in mind she deleted me and we havent spoken since. She cant see who i have on my instagram while she is not following because my profile is private. In the meantime i have been removing a lot of meaningless connections from my instagram and i will be removing her ex and his family too, for context 2 weeks ago i had over 200 followers and now i only have 130, i have also noticed that her number of following has also decreased as she has also been cutting down on the number of connections she has. I blame myself for this situation because I had the opportunity to delete her ex and his family a few months ago as I don't even speak to them, had I done that then she wouldn't have deleted me.
Might be worth mentioning that we had one mutual friend on instagram but she has also deleted that person so now we have no mutual connections.
it seemed like she wasnt uncomfortable talking to me but Its been 5 weeks and i haven't heard anything, I honestly cant tell whether shes uninterested in me or if shes waiting for me to message, I feel defeated in this situation because it took a lot of courage for me to add her in the first place and now she's deleted me, I feel like she won't get in touch with me just because I'm from the same town as her ex. I'm worried if I wait too long then she might forget about me.
it's been 5 weeks and I don't know if I should message her first or wait for her to message first?

I saw a tumblr post about how 11 referenced tegan to clara and i began talking about adric parallels
Clara has A LOT of Adric parallels tbh
Jenna was partly cast to resemble Matthew Waterhouse and Robin Soans. Or at least she resembles them a lot!
Clara herself has parents that met in 1981
There is also a quote to a s18 episode with Adric in it but I don't remember which, I think it was rings of akhaten having either a state of decay or new beginning trilogy quote
and in face the raven, the doctor ends up tying the shoes of a kid resembling the fifth doctor. He says, remember 82 as he ties the kids shoes. This is an Adric reference too. I even gave them names, the mom is Vega Sourceheart and the kid is Blaic Sourceheart.
And somehow face the raven also combines it with traken destruction crumbs? It literally has robin soans playing a guy credited by his cause of death. He's credited as Chronolock Guy but I call him, Civul of Habria. I also call his wife Toci. And his dad's name is Dad bc that's an Habrian name. And then clara and ashildr say "do cybermen show mercy" while looking at his corpse. I literally believe he exists as a remind to Luvic's death during Traken's destruction.
Funny how two dorky brunette alien guys with five letter names ending in ic, both, eventually, in later on episodes\serials than they were introduced, died young via an accidental explosion\natural force\crash while "piloting" a structure (throne of a castle, lifeboat of a freighter) into something natural yet a alien to them in a way (be it an entropy wawe or ancient earth) in an event which caused an impact and is practically historical\wiping out species. Both being accidents but partly caused by the Doctor's villains AKA the Master and the Cybermen.
Not saying that in another universe Clara would be born to Adric and Luvic but it's possible that would've happened, that there was another possible original or alternate universe Clara in an universe where the New Beginnings Trilogy happened a bit different and Adric was an adult already when he first came to N-Space in "the Keeper of Traken".
But if you reverse ic you get ci that is similiar to the cl in clara...
I still need to stress out stuff related to that era ngl. Recently found out that I was treating it like my little pony background characters and not real people with hopes and dreams... For a long time I had not processed the grief.

Title: “Privacy Unraveled”
Characters:

• Alex: A mid-level executive in a prominent company. • Sam: Alex’s colleague and friend. • Jamie: Alex’s boss. • Reporter: A tabloid journalist. • Audience: Represents the general public’s reaction. 

Act 1: The Incident
Scene 1: Alex’s Office
(Alex is working at their desk, Sam enters)
Sam: (worried) Alex, have you seen the news?
Alex: No, what happened?
Sam: (shows phone) This video… It’s everywhere. Someone leaked footage of you in the bathroom.
Alex: (shocked) What? How did this happen?
Sam: I don’t know, but it’s all over social media. People are already making jokes about it.
Alex: (frustrated) This is a nightmare. How am I supposed to face anyone now?
Scene 2: The Bathroom (Flashback)
(Alex is seen in a stall, unaware of a hidden camera capturing the footage. He is visibly uncomfortable, shifting in his seat, sweating profusely, and breathing heavily.)
Alex: (thinking out loud) I can’t believe I ate that spicy food for lunch… (sighs deeply, then starts huffing and puffing as he struggles)
Alex: (groaning) Come on, just get it over with… (more huffing and puffing, followed by a loud plop)
Alex: (relieved) Finally… (takes a deep breath, wipes sweat from his brow)
(Alex stands up hurriedly, not flushing the toilet, forgetting to wipe, and leaves the stall without washing his hands)
Scene 3: The Boardroom
(Alex and Jamie are seated at the table)
Jamie: Alex, we need to discuss the video. This is serious.
Alex: I know, Jamie. I’m devastated. This was a complete violation of my privacy.
Jamie: (sighs) I understand, but the board is concerned about our company’s image. We need to address this quickly.
Alex: What can I do? This wasn’t my fault.
Jamie: We’ll start with a public statement. We need to show that we’re taking this seriously and that you’re handling it with dignity.
Act 2: The Fallout
Scene 1: The Press Conference
(Alex stands at a podium, facing reporters)
Reporter: Alex, how do you respond to the leaked footage? How will this impact your career?
Alex: (composed) This has been a deeply personal and humiliating experience. My privacy was violated, and I am working with authorities to find the person responsible. I ask for understanding and respect during this difficult time.
Reporter: Do you think this will affect your position at the company?
Alex: I hope not. I am dedicated to my work and committed to moving past this incident.
Scene 2: The Office
(Alex and Sam are talking)
Sam: That was a tough conference. How are you holding up?
Alex: It’s been rough, but I have to keep moving forward. I can’t let this define me.
Sam: People will eventually forget. Just stay strong and keep doing your best.
Alex: Thanks, Sam. Your support means a lot.
Scene 3: The Public Reaction
(Audience members representing public opinion are discussing)
Audience Member 1: Did you hear about that video? So embarrassing.
Audience Member 2: Yeah, but it’s not like they did anything wrong. It’s just unfortunate.
Audience Member 3: I still feel bad for Alex. That’s such a personal invasion.
Scene 4: The Media Frenzy
(Reporters and tabloid journalists are seen discussing the story)
Reporter 1: This story is getting a lot of traction. People can’t stop talking about it.
Reporter 2: It’s the kind of scandal that sells papers, but it’s also a huge invasion of privacy.
Reporter 3: True, but we need to cover it from every angle. Let’s get more quotes from the company and public reactions.
Act 3: Moving Forward
Scene 1: The Office (Months Later)
(Alex is at their desk, working. Jamie enters)
Jamie: Alex, I’ve been meaning to talk to you. The board has decided to support you. They admire how you’ve handled this situation.
Alex: (relieved) That’s a huge relief. Thank you, Jamie.
Jamie: Just keep focusing on your work. This will pass.
Scene 2: The Public’s Reaction
(Audience members represent public opinion, murmuring among themselves)
Audience Member 1: I felt bad for Alex. That was such an invasion of privacy.
Audience Member 2: Yeah, it’s not fair to judge them based on that.
Audience Member 3: I respect how they handled it. Shows real character.
Scene 3: Alex’s Home
(Alex sits, reflecting. Sam joins)
Alex: It’s been a tough year, but I’m grateful for the support I’ve received.
Sam: You handled it with grace, Alex. People see that.
Alex: (smiling) Thanks, Sam. Here’s to moving forward.
(Curtain closes)
End of Play

My family was trying to discern why Davis felt so beautiful, inviting, full, and rigorous enough for my first few months here. I think I've distilled that below. At the very bottom at least.
Firstly, I am, have been, a pretty active PoliSci/IR major. I double majored in sociology for most my time here, but dropped it to graduate early -- strictly and directly because Davis gave me so so much more to want to do. I say directly because it's own PoliSci study abroad program made me see that. More on that later. Or feel free to message me. However long in the future.
I can talk a lot, don't like to end sentences, and use metaphors. But when I was doing this search a few years back, I was dying to find someone verbose so I hope this helps you, future applicants. Congrats for making it this far. Take a breath, whatever choice you make will be right.
For some context on my perspective, I moved from Greece to SoCal when I was about 10, so got a good balance of an American "local" perspective and the classic, aptly stereotyped European borderline snobbery perspective. After getting waitlisted at Berkeley for too long, and accepted at Santa Cruz, where my brother had gone, San Diego and Irvine, I chose Davis. Among those choices especially, I am beyond happy. Throw Berkeley and LA into the mix, I'm still happy. And this is coming from an academic junkie honestly -- taking five courses a quarter for quite a few of my quarters here (normal full-time student is 3), worked at our lovely student newspaper (shoutout to The California Aggie), did some remote internships on the side, partied, did nothing for days, made friends, lost friends, saw friend groups fall apart terribly, hilariously, bar crawled, crammed, emailed every excuse in the book (except for grandma) etc.
EDIT: that works best at the top. A VERY important thing that college "experts" don't tell you about here is how you need to find, and search until you find, a reliable counselor in your school/major. Someone that KNOWS the requirements and courses you need. Meet with them plenty. I give a shout-out later to my counselor, the lead for PoliSci/IR, Saira, I don't even want to think of what chaos I could have fallen into if not for her. Go use UC davis mydegree (SUPER useful) but for the love of God, talk to your counselor every quarter, even just for five minutes, always pop on the platform, select a specific counselor, and make the appointment. Even if the earliest one is a week or two ahead. Book it.
A Brief Prelude:
Going in to college guys, my two cents is just treat life like you love learning the world around you, know it will absolutely fuck you up sometimes, and know 24 hours in a day is enough. I am by all accounts far, far from perfect but I feel like with a tiny bit of grit and commitment to go tf outside, not always letting in negative feelings when they want to (ahem, thanks phone) you can have all those experiences you dream of.
This is where Davis comes in. It successfully facilitated that. And I think it can for many, many more people. To be a bit of a pundit ass, it's a truly hidden gem.
Here We Go:
My reasoning has three parts, tldrs for the first two, or if you really want, just skip to the third:
1: The town and the uni as areas
The uni itself has a very balanced culture (look at how Berk can be called unbalanced and clastrophobically manic, and how the SoCal suburb UCs & SD can just be more or less socially dead) and by all means the town would survive without the uni. The town is VERY well placed indeed with SF a stone's throw away (and uni buses that take you straight there for cheap) Sac moments away (for God sakes avoid rush hour), and make some fucking use out of that godtier student discount on the ikon pass to go to Tahoe and ski unlimited days if that's your thing. Or teach your friends!. Join the "ski" club for their ludicrous parties at least once.
I remember the mailers I got pummeled by in senior year of high school, Davis calling itself something like the college town of California half-heartedly struck me like, huh, I wonder what that's supposedly like. It's fucking AWESOME. If you don't have a car, don't have a generous friend with a car, then use student discount on Zipcar, if you don't want to take the train/bus to SF or are going somewhere else. There is zero, zero excuse to not explore those two places heavily if you have four years here, quite heavily too for my lovely transfer students and their two years. Added to the beautiful hometown-but-lively feel of Davis, that regional amenity pack is honestly, perhaps, the best among all UCs. UCLA doesn't even have a goddamn public transit connection to get to the rest of the city in its name. Though that should change with the Olympics. Anyways.
As a foodie with some global chops,, for how sleepy and nonchalant Davis seems,, it still surprises the fuck out of me. Just had birria noodles (!?) from the same place I had one too many drinks at the other night, like, what? There's bomb poke at zumapoke, ol reliables in n out and Cane's, incredible, incredible ice cream at Davis creamery, a surprising few solid options for Indian, Thai, Chinese, and cheap - restaurant - michelin restaurant levels of sushi. Though my dark horse is the sushi & nigiri at the Coho. Guads for Mexican. I used to hang with friends that went to Tijuana for tacos during high school lunch, Guads gets the job done. hapilly. There's also a really good hotdog place,, that for obvious reasons won Guy Fieri's food show awards here earlier this year. A value staple (for my bulking gym friends) at Tim's in the Wednesday chicken katsu special, though it's great and honestly 2.5 meals for me any day of the week,
and oh back to transport a bit -- there's a solid supply of Ubers/Lyfts at all hours, a very smart measured amount of bikes/scooters scattered about to rent, and again, buy your own damn bike. I love the buses and they are absolutely great here,,, but trust me buy that bike off of Craigslist. To close, cannot forget to shoutout Mishkas for coffee and study spot. Though goddamn are there rival options as well. Can do a really thorough personality test thingy off of your coffee spot selection here. That's how many there are.
To start closing this section, If you can access a car (you have so many options) or can, like a good Next-Gen American, see yourself taking Amtrak or other public/uni transport to SF,, (coming back at night no need to spend housing $ most nights) you will be more, much more than fine if you're after for a lot out of your undergrad experience. Basically having so many A+ tier options (many more than the GOATS mentioned) to go to on a slower weekend, for a necessary change of scenery, or to say fck it we ball and skip some classes, live life,, that makes Davis a no-miss possibility. But make sure you go meet people,, from orientation, classes, clubs, frats, sports (volunteer teams too),, go find your people, they are here. Among the hidden sixty thousand of us.
tldr; the town (town, not city) has an excellent energy, beautiful scenery, truly bike friendly so no hassle to move around, great amount of amenities as places -- especially bars that closed during COVID are still reopening (+2 bars just in the last two years) -- and has the BEST location to explore the State during your time here. No other place can offer you a cozy hometown base, literally 50min-1.20hours time to one of the world's most fascinating cities in SF, AND an absolute holy grail of snow and water sports in Tahoe (~2 hour scenic drive is not bad, even during a five class workload, enjoy our youth while we have it everyone).
2: The campus/ The academics:
Campus is downright gorgeous, it's specialty is in fall and especially spring, but in winter too, for my winter enjoyers, it does hit the spot a surprising amount. Just make sure you have rain and wind gear. For your bike too. Don't let that shit rust. Rear fender before you get the dreaded stripe. The heat is fine, 0 humidity is a cheat code. You can also effectively treat campus as a very small one, stay in the centre cluster of the library, Quad, MU, the core academic buildings, or -- as you should -- venture out on your bike or on foot and become familiar with it's nooks and crannies. The (massive) Arboretum , now under some unfortunate but environmentally awesome renovations in the lake, is absolutely fabulous. Going to the West End and it's massive, absolutely massive grass sprawl with redwood and non redwood tree clusters between classes and chilling is just...insane. Forget the lovely cows, go give some love to my boy Truffle the Goat (a goat of goats) and his neighboring alpacas....and cows. Shoutout to the house/EDM nighttime party at the grass area by the coffee class building on picnic day. Shit slapped. But then 5 minutes on the bike and you're -- still in campus -- but back in the hustle and bustle. Balance. I don't think we talk about this enough for college campuses. I was obsessed with Berkeley's lively af scene, felt so so in touch with urban Europe vibe, the opposite of SoCal suburbia. But Davis is only an hour away and hey, we have a massive and bustling Palestine encampment that I'm very proud of + some peace. To each their own.
To any architecture or design majors, you will enjoy this. It's a sleeper hit. The variety in the building styles is insane, but, it works? How mystical and beautiful. Also, the Death Star.
If you ever see a class with it's location at the Mondavi Center - fucking take it. Lecture in a state of the art theateconcert hall? Where I saw Pink Martini perform? Yes please. Oppositely, a mandatory class at Rock Hall? An unfortunate necessary evil. At the TLC? Why the hell are there screens on every wall; Old-school spoiling us behavior, nice to see for a bit of a change honestly and thank God, one building for $85 million. Climate neutral though. Shoutout to Wellman Hall, California, Everson oddly enough, the RADICALLY good vibes in the Art Building, the cave vibe of Kleiber, and yeah. There's much more. God bless the reading room at the library, screw you if you aren't self conscious of your noise level in there ("reading" room, "moderately social"). Make sure you spend a good chunk of your breaks at the part of the Arb by Mrak Hall. Convenient as hell location, + ducks. And all the good that comes with troops of ducks.
Academics largely function the same as that To each their own sentiment, for us in the humanities. When I took the Davis-specific study abroad program at the London School of Economics and PoliSci,,, you could see what a top 10 school in the humanities was like. Or at least my corner of them. Davis is much more relaxed than that. However, if you choose to do something about that, you will find yourself getting an education much much much more tailored to you than if you went to a bigger institution. What's the other proverb, big fish in a small pond or small fish in a big pond? I guess now that I'm in the end, I feel even more confident to say that the former of those two is the way to go for undergrad in particular. But emphasis on the fact that the pond here is not that small, no matter what major you're in. I haven't heard a single person really complain that their area is just crucially lacking. On that, programs like UCDC and UCSac are VERY well funded here and there is an outsize amount of perks, obviously for UCSac especially. And these programs are NOT utilized ENOUGH. I suppose they're throwing money at them to incentivize you, reading this post, to attend.
So tldr on academics (no tldr for campus, sorry); you are either absolutely fucking set from the start or you're not far below that and retain the option to boost that educational value MUCH more than in institutions that wrangle their professors more and are more in the spotlight, or too far away from it. Davis basically IS the Harvard for a few STEM majors. That has an effect on us all. People told me this ahead of time too, but it's another thing to actually experience that. And funding is not an issue here at all (keeping in mind the fact that no public educational institution in this country and even state receives nearly as much public funding as it did a few decades ago).
3: "Energy"
If we delineate between the city & geography (1) and campus & education (2) then three has to be just the energy, and the stuff satellite to those things that complete the experience. Davis really is the school best positioned to say to each their own. I am a person that learns best off of good examples and influences, but that didn't hobble me much here, unlike what I expected. The people are a representation of that "to each..." mantra. You can find plenty of uber passionate, talented and hardworking people here. You can find quite a few extremely fratty people,, the spice of life maybe lmao. You can find many people that just want their quiet consistent little groups. And you can find people that don't care, or just don't care yet. And the most beautiful, you can find people in the middles of those.
The fact that you can find all those populations in equal or at least broadly proportionate amounts is striking, and what makes Davis, Davis. No other university I personally know in California, in the West or East Coast, in the UK or continental Europe is quite like that. Especially with the aforementioned regional amenities pack here. You cannot go wrong with this school. I can see at worst people saying that you can, I have been in moods to say that for sure, but that's a fleeting impression most likely born out of staying in your comfort zone too much. If you need to be poked hella, yeah perhaps you'll need to remember that so you don't slide into the uneventful side of the place, but it's beneficial to have that there in some times.
There's a healthy amount of frats partying, downtown buzzed on all appropriate nights, though I did want more, we now have regular fresh churro stands at night which slaps, there's clubs living it up in their own fields, more than enough new places to eat/study at, lots and lots of classes to try (check out the California Aggie Best Of articles,,, and the California Aggie in general, as a former employee, the paper rocks), lots of credentialed professors, lots of assholes lots of sweethearts (ratemyprof as always), so much campus space to explore and enjoy, and the cherry on top, you don't like that? Here's San Franfuckingsisco an ~ hour away car or no car. Here's Lake goddamn Tahoe just two hours away for a literal privileged lifetime supply of nature and snow sports, and just for fun, here's Yosemite three hours away. A comfortable fun weekend destination. And something like Lake Berryessa 30 min away.
Another shoutout to Sac airport — you receive one of my most favorable airport reviews globally. And you're ~26 minutes away from The Green when I'm not speeding. (The slander on the Green, is utter bs. I'm surprised just as you that it is, but it is all just fake news. Just don't pick the room next to the trash,, or the 1st floor in my personal view. Bugs and noise. Also it literally runs almost 100% on solar, how cool).
Conclusion:
No university is as well positioned as this one to make the world feel like your oyster.
If you are just willing to push a little, consistently. Sure, it's not a "statement" youve made it school that just offers itself on a silver platter. But you can make that silver platter on your own. Fuck it make a golden one even. On academics especially, again, it IS a statement school for some majors, and unlike most times this phrase is used, it does trickle down. As a Greek I love and habitually stereotype (and then being proved wrong is a bonus),,, I can't stereotype Davis. Probably the 2nd-3rd time I say that ever. At least not as a whole. There's too many sizeable factions of wildly different lifestyles. Cows? Love em, yeah we're in gorgeous farmland, but we're also home to Picnic Day (one of California's holy trinity of social college events, for good reason) Lawntopia, the Whole Earth Festival, next to Sac and a bit out from The City. Barhopping is far, far from world class in the post-covid era but rebounding and, if there's a pirate themed bar with free caricatures and way too strong cocktails, how bad can it really be? If you're not here for STEM, sure your professors aren't in the news but don't think it's not a competitive job to land here, and that you're not better off as a student with them not being primadonas. The campus itself, with a bike ofc, nothing less than a chef's kiss. Make sure you get in a sunset or a few at the parking structure.
Actual Conclusion:
I will say nothing more but a close and an addition that there's still so, so much more. This is a BIG university that gives. So much. It's so American in that you reach for what you want (though of course we're very liberal and there's so many good people, staff here to help you. Shoutout to my girl Saira Delgado for PoliSci counseling). But as in previous-century Americana especially, the more you reach for here, the exponentially more you get than in other places.
So reach, refuse too small a comfort zone, but stay true to yourself, this is your life you're in the middle of. This is a school that will make you grow in any way you show you want to.
We don't appreciate balanced environments, adaptable to your own preferences enough.
To quote & slightly paraphrase the end of my favorite trilogy as I also say goodbye to this university,
Take what you can, leave nothing behind.

I couldn't resist a Futurama quote.
Well, here we are. Again. I got super excited about something that happened, tried to recreate that magic, and nothing. Not even an acknowledgement. It's stupid, I know. I should never have expected lightning to strike twice, but... I guess it's hard not to, eh?
And I know I probably freaked them out. Like, probably coming off as a stalker. I admit, I was motivated by selfish reasons. I wanted a link, a connection, no matter how tenuous. The ability to say "I know them", and have them know me, even just a little.
I'm a pathetic little fool, I know that. Even now, after all these years of life lessons, I still have these childish moments of "maybe this time...". Maybe this time I can have my 'Main Character' moment. And not in a "the world must pay attention to me" way, just in a "hey, look, this crazy coincidence that happens to everyone else finally happened to me!" or "I finally caught a break!"
So now I sit here, feeling demoralised and utterly foolish. Humiliated, even, and angry at myself. What the hell was I thinking? Of course it wasn't going to work; it never does. I don't have MC energy. I'm an NPC in the world, greeting adventurers as they go about their exciting lives. I am not my sister, I don't have the magic power of entropy and/or luck.
I am an NPC. I am an NPC. I am an NPC. I need to remember my place, and be content with it.
I just wish...
ETA: And the worst worst part? I wrote this in the hopes I'd somehow manage to kinda jinx myself. Like, I'd write this post and then something good would happen; I'd get the response I wanted. How pathetic is that? Still holding on to that last remnant of hope. Why can't I just accept that I'm a nobody, and always will be? Why do I feel the need to try and make these stupid connections? The longer I keep hoping for this shit, the more I'm only going to end up hurting myself.
They say Pandora opened the box and let negativity out into the world, but managed to keep hope trapped, as though hope is a good thing. It's not. As the Dowager Countess of Grantham states, "hope is a tease designed to prevent us from accepting reality." I hate hope. It destroys me every time. Even when I hope for something small, like good weather or striking up a nice conversation with a random person, I'm still disappointed. Every fucking time.
I'm too old to still be hoping for things. Why can't I just accept this is reality, this is going to be my life. It's going to be empty, fruitless and unsatisfying. Just accept it. God, I'm so pathetic.
ETATA: Look, I know it's stupid, but it was also the reason I bought the tools necessary to help me through some physical problems I've had my entire life. I was motivated by my stupid little fantasy to try and fix the issue. They arrived just in time for my hopes to have fallen through the floor, and I'm back to believing I shouldn't bother or waste my time, because what's the point of fixing a problem that would only be a problem in very specific circumstances which I will never be in again? Same with my weight loss. What's the point if I'm only ever going to be passed over by life? Yeah, yeah, be healthy and fit, blah blah blah, but I'd be lying if I said part of the motivation lay in the pathetic hope that maybe if I did lose weight and fixed my problem, it would help my MC-ness.
And now I want to go get some comfort food because I'm so down, which will just make me fatter. God, I hate my brain.

So we will need to do a complete rewire in our 1970s 3 bed house that we're buying. I had an EICR done and it was condemned (it wasn't a surprise tbh). Now this same company has quoted us 5-6k to do a rewire. Google agrees on average. Our friend had his daughters house rewired for just over 3k (they live in a slightly cheaper town). I have since enquired for some quotes and some are 5k+ and others are 3k+. Seem wildly different. What kind of stuff I need to check for to make sure legit people will be doing this? Can prices vary so much based on where the electrician is from? North/West Yorkshire area.

is anyone else sick and tired of the "resources" offered to DV victims and survivors? I'm so done with it. It's like people who have never been through it or have been through it but carry internalized shame about it, are always recommending that WE need to "FIX" OURSELVES... like I'm sorry but that is disgusting. we all know how it goes -
"pick better next time"
I'm sorry but do you understand how manipulation and deception work? I have a phd in psychology (and i can tell you the only real education I gave myself was by observing and analyzing myself and others around me since like literally preschool. school/my degree wasn't what made me aware but that's another topic), and was not at all aware of how abusive this person was because that's literally not how abuse works. you don't just fall in love with an abuser. i fell for the mask, or maybe it was actually his potential or good in him. i'll never know. but the point is,
telling dv victims and survivors that their healing should consist of working on themselves is not helpful. it gives me a horrible gut feeling i'm sorry i don't care if that's an unpopular take but it needs to go. what other form of suffering can you think of where someone's heart, mind, body, and spirit are literally brutalized and then people say "therapy is gonna help you, you just need to develop bOuNdArIeS and educate yourself on red flags and love yourself"
ok so i chose to be single for 5 years. i know what it looks like to love myself and take care of myself. i really was that stereotypical single woman in all of her early 20s who radiated a sense of "self-love" (that term has become super capitalized but idk what else to use), freedom, and self esteem. i truly was in my prime. i had "done the work" so to speak and couldn't have cared less about dating. i felt fulfilled, but of course we all want or wanted that fairytale.
then one day it came out of nowhere for me and felt so perfect. i didn't know who he truly was because that's not how abusers reel you in.
looking back, i guess there were some red flags that i could've taken better note of, but oh my god it's so much wayyyyy more complex than that.
it's just the way that people subtly victim blame and shame dv victims/survivors by "offering help".... that's just, "oh you need to work on yourself so that this doesn't happen again..."
like wtf? i'm done letting people make me feel like that and i'm wondering if anyone else is sick of it too. and i hope this helped anyone feel less alone because i've spoken to a few dv victims/survivors in person about this and we're all just done. being abused is literally sinister. intimate partner violence is sinister. it rewires your brain and body into a constant state of fear and dependence because they destroy you piece by piece until you don't even feel like a person anymore. it's literally nauseating and sometimes i've felt like i'm literally gonna die from crying so hard. it's been a year and a half since i left and still hurts. no amount of "working on myself" makes it easier because that's not life. real life isn't an instagram post with a quote written by a silver spoon kid that got a job as a counselor. if that helps people then hey more power to ya, but for me and i know for other women, it's so traumatizing.
being abused is not our fault, it never was and there isn't anything wrong with us for SOMEONE ELSE CHOOSING TO ABUSE US.
thanks for listening i guess.

Hi,
I’ve seen an increase in the amount of posts that need the same advice. I’m going to write this assuming you are medically fit & have been checked by a doctor. My advice is based on my interpretations of Dr Claire Weekes.
Firstly, I’d like you to know that I also struggle with this disorder. I understand exactly what you’re going through, from the first panic attack I had, to going to the hospital screaming I’m dying, to googling my symptoms, to wanting rid of whatever illness I had. I too have been on every combination of medication you can name, have tried box-breathing & still experience panic. The truth is that although medication & mindfulness can be beneficial, without my next piece of advice, you will not recover.
Whilst in a panicked state, our body becomes so sensitised & threatened that not only do we notice every small bodily sensation, we perceive it as a threat. This is how the disorder takes over.
This disorder requires full submission, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. Through submitting and NOT FIGHTING, you’ll slowly heal. My favourite Weekes’ quote is “jelly legs will still get you there”, and it’s true! By sitting at home worried and anticipating your next attack, you’re fuelling this monster. If you have particular worries, i.e. that you’ll drop down dead/you’ll faint, you need to challenge them. I say to myself, “well, if I’m going to die then at least I’ll die in this beautiful park instead of my dark room”.
If you’re reading this thinking “but he doesn’t understand, I have XYZ symptom, no doctor listens”. The truth is, I do. You are not unique, you’re just so highly sensitised and threatened that you’re terrified! “but the doctor didn’t do X test”, that’s because you didn’t need it. Your panic has convinced you that doctors are somehow not qualified enough to deal with you.
You cannot rationale your way out of this. You must submit to panic, if you have a panic attack, so be it. The reality is, you’ve survived 100% of your panic attacks and it will not kill you.
Do yourself a favour, you deserve a normal life again ❤️

Hello, I'm in need of some pointers on a spiritual teaching.
I'd first like to put down some quotes about it from spiritual masters: "First, desire itself is Existence. The energy called desire is the same energy as Existence".
“Your very being is desire; to be against it is to be against yourself and against all. To be against it is to be against the flowers and the birds and the sun and the moon. To be against it is against all creativity. Desire is creativity."
" If you bring awareness to your desiring process, it is a wonderful instrument. But if it finds unconscious expression, then it makes you run like madman."
"You made a statement that “desire is the source of all misery.” Desire is not the source of all misery; unfulfilled desire is the source of all misery. Fulfilled desires are the source of joy."
"It is generally attributed to Gautama Buddha that he said “desirelessness.” When he said “desirelessness,” he is not stupid to think that people can exist here without desire. He knows that without desire there is no existence. You wanting to be desireless itself is a big desire".
"TO BE TOTALLY FREE OF DESIRE WILL MAKE YOU DEAD -you will not be alive any more. That’s what has been taught: Be desireless! But what can you do? You can go on cutting desires; the more desires are cut, the poorer your life becomes. If all desires are destroyed, then you have committed suicide, spiritual suicide. No, desire is the energy of life, desire is life."
I'm having trouble understanding this certain teaching. I have thought about it in depth and meditated over it but I'd still need some help from fellow meditators. What I've gathered is the fact that desire itself is Life, it's force, creativity and presents the driving force behind humanity and our daily lives. If we had zero desires we would simply sit still, become a statue and drop dead. I can understand Buddha's quote where he claims that it's the source of all misery but it desires can also be positive and they do not have to necessarily affect us in a negative way. Many teachers preach that desire is the worst thing that you can ever be involved in and that we must completely eradicate it from our lives. So that's what caused my inquiry.
Kindly read what ill write down below and share your own thoughts:
- Can we desire a house, a partner from a presence of wellbeing and knowing fulfilled desires don't lead to being fully content? - Can we desire to purchase clothes we like, things we enjoy but not identify it as a prime source of our inner wellness? - Are we supposed to completely destroy desires and not want to do anything our lives, hence not making any kind of action towards anything at all or is this teaching more about being conscious about desires? - I've came across various spiritual content that the teaching of being desireless is often misunderstood, would you say that's true? - Do you have any positive desires in your life that don't continuously affect you negatively in any way?- Can you still have desires and subsequently buy things and enjoy them while not basing your whole worth on them?
Is this teaching commonly misinterpreted? I have heard that the desire itself isn't bad and that it's normal to have desires and they are natural aspects of human nature and we should have desires and that desires are the building blocks of everything that is done in life, from the society, buildings and to the health care system and so much more, what I've heard that it mostly has to do with "clinging" to that desire... would you say this teaching is understood wrongly and if so, can you explaing it based on your insight and understanding?
Based on various spiritual teachings, discourses from enlightened masters desires can also be understood as neutral, some desires can also be healthy and lead to imroving one's health and mind-state, and so on...
I'd greatly appreciate an in depth or even short answer on this subject matter.
Thank you for your time With love, a fellow meditator.

Throwaway account because obviously.
This one needs a little backstory. Okay, more than a little. We’ll get to the actual situation and question, please bear with me.
I grew up in a one-family house in a small town with my mother and her parents. The house were my grandfather’s property, but he allowed my mother (his daughter) to live there with my father and me, while he himself lived in an apartment with his wife (my grandmother). This whole story, and the outlying question, stems directly from these facts.
My grandmother (or the people around her - depends on how you look at it) suffered from multiple mental issues. Obviously undiagnosed, because you know how good old people are with psychologists. But the older and wiser I got, the more I recognized that her behavior is very much like someone who suffers from delusions of grandeur and narcissism, all the while being a control freak. She had no boundaries whatsoever, it’s like the concept didn’t exist in her head. You could speak in her general direction for hours about boundaries, privacy, etc. She’d say that she understands and agrees that boundaries are necessary, that everyone is entitled to at least some degree of privacy. Then the next minute she’d go and invade peoples lives like she didn’t just agree that boundaries are healthy, or like all of that is below her and simply does not apply to her.
So, naturally, the first thing my father saw each morning, was his controlling mother-in-law. Also, the last thing my father saw each evening, was his controlling mother-in-law. It wasn’t much until she would have slept in bed between my parents. In the house that my grandfather good-willed to my parents and me.
So being the peace-loving man that he is, my father sent them all to hell, divorced my mother and left. He kept in contact with me regularly, despite the fact that my grandmother tried to hide me from him.
Couple of years later, I was around 8 or 9, my mother decided that drinking, partying with low-lifes and being passed around by numerous dudes is more important than caring about me, and I remained with her parents. I moved to the apartment with my grandparents, and the house remained as a gigantic storage locker for my grandfather. Oh yes, both of my grandparents were also hoarders.
Around that time I also started to get bullied in school, which kept going for the rest of my school life. My grandfather remained the only human around me with common sense, empathy and a functioning brain. Despite that, we didn’t see eye to eye about a lot. He denied me being bullied, he denied me being depressed all throughout my teens, he didn’t “believe” in such “small” societal issues. He was also powerless against my grandmother, his own wife.
I was tired of the literal trash around me all the time at home. I was tired of being bullied in school. I was tired of my every step being judged and my every penny counted by my grandmother. I was tired of being laughed at because I smelled like the trash at home all the time. And I was tired of not being able to trust anyone, not even my grandfather. I had made numerous attempts at my life already before I reached 18. First attempt was around 12-13, I think. Luckily, all unsuccessful.
It was a rough upbringing, but I made it through. I only started to recover from all the trauma at around 24-26, during covid. While everyone else was losing their minds, I finally started to get my noggin together.
Fast forward to 2024. My grandparents are now gone from this world. My relationship with my mother has gotten much better through the years, but although she has told me that she’s sorry and miserable, and understands that she was a horrible mother, I cannot ever forgive her completely.
Despite that, we are in a good relation. We spoke and decided that caring for the let-down and packed-up house will be too much for her, I’m taking it over and will see if it can be saved. The house is currently legally hers by order of inheritance, but I have her spoken consent to do with it as I see fit.
Just for reference, the yard is a complete jungle, and every inch of the inside of the house is packed with random stuff and trash, leaving just one small pathway, barely wide enough to move, through the house between all the piles of garbage.
Fast forward to last friday and the actual situation. I went over to start doing some work in the yard. First order of business – make it less overgrown. My girlfriend said she’d come with me to help. She had a funny outfit, so she made a selfie and sent it to her mother, saying that we’re going to work in the yard.
An an hour or two in business, someone knocks on the gate. I thought it’s a neighbor that noticed something happening in the abandoned house and came to investigate. I open the gate, and to my surprise it’s my girlfriends mother, together with my girlfriends little sister. I open the gate and they walk in. The sister starts to laugh at the trash all around and how the yard is overgrown. The mother starts to ask about the neighbors, investigating the yard and house, telling me how to renovate the house and saying that I should’ve called this dude and that dude (names I heard for the first time) to help with the yard. All this, while I’m standing under a tree branch with a handsaw in my hand, and trying to figure out how to fell it without killing someone or myself, or damaging the house.
For context, this is not the first time when my girlfriends mother is trying to order me around. My girlfriend has to keep her in check every time we visit. She also exhibits a LOT of controlling behavior towards both her daughters.
Not wanting to make a scene outright, I pretended to ignore them and continued to work. Few minutes later, my girlfriend talked them out of the yard and they went their ways.
So then obviously s**t hit the fan. The situation brought up all the memories from the story above. How I was laughed at about the trash and smell. How I was controlled and ordered around by my grandmother. How similar her mother is to my grandmother. I wasn’t angry, I wasn't sad. I was hurt to the deepest reaches of my soul, and f***ing furious!
We fought for the whole evening and over the next two days. She knows the story of my origin, she knows what it means to me and how much it hurts.
I’m telling her that people, even family, are not arriving unannounced, uninvited and do not start to order the owner around. Besides, maybe I did not want 3rd parties to see the current state of the house, did anyone think of that?
She says that they were only “suggestions” and her mother was just trying to help, and I’m unable to just take an opinion.
I say that I take an opinion when I ask for it, I do not need to listen about house restoration when all I’m trying to do is make it to the end of this tree. And I will not tolerate anyone coming onto my property and dictate me around. I say that her mothers behavior is awfully similar to my grandmother, and I do not want my past to be my childrens future (luckily we do not yet have kids).
She says that I dare not compare people. Her mother just is like that, always has been, and it’s not in our power to change her. Also, this is the first time that she arrived unannounced anywhere.
I say that that's good that this is the first time and hopefully there won't be any more, although I doubt that. As for not changing her - THAT’S EXACTLY THE POINT. She will keep pushing boundaries. She will appear out of nowhere more and more often. Where will be the limit? Who will be the one to put the foot down when it comes too far? Obviously not me, because you're forbidding me to say anything about her. You? Sorry, dove, but you don't have the guts to stand up against your mother.
The discussion, if you may call that, was obviously much longer, but these are the main excerpts winding through the whole ordeal.
In the end I told her that there are three kinds of people that do stuff like this. Quoting myself here : “They are - in no particular order – sociopaths; narcissists; control freaks. Since I’m not allowed to say anything bad about your mother, please, ask her yourself, which one, or what combination of the three, is she.”
She, obviously, did not ask her.
AITAH?

Here is the list seller provided me -> https://pcpartpicker.com/list/74CpPF
This is the requirements I sent them.
We need a pre-built PC for a developer in our company. System must be compatible with Fedora 40 (Xorg) without proprietary drivers. Should support 2 * 1440p monitors each running 144hz. Must have 2.5Gbe LAN as our office runs 10G networking. Need at least 16GB memory in dual channel. Storage need minimum 64GB but prefer M.2.
Having VGA would be a bonus. We prefer PC to be smaller and lightweight, easy to move around.
System must be snappy, developer will build and run code in our remote server containers, so bulk of the load will be out-sourced, developer must be able to multi-task while coding, with browser, and maybe screen sharing. Will be using VSCode, GoLand, CLion IDEs. Again, all the code will be run on a remote server, this system just needs to support IDE perfectly without hanging, running LSP, plugins etc.
Provide me with cheapest option for what I require.
Seller quoted me $699.99 with 2 year service warranty.

I've been working as a general accountant for the past five years.
In my role, I review contracts, proposals, and quotes to ensure they comply with policies and laws. I then create purchase orders and work with vendors to update them when there are changes in a project's scope, and then track to ensure invoices have been paid on time.
This full-cycle accounts payable process is something I know very well since I've been doing it for 10 hours a day for the past five years.
I've also helped to build and test a new procurement system we implemented and reported bugs after it was launched.
Additionally, I run daily reports to help clean data and better articulate the status of orders or issues that need resolution.
While I make decent money doing this, it's draining because I feel like I have so much more to offer the world.
One hurdle is college. I only have my associate's degree, and in California, you need a bachelor's degree to get a CPA license. My goal is to get my bachelor's within the next 24 months. In the meantime, I need to start planning how to launch my private practice.
For anyone who’s a licensed CPA running your own firm, I have a few questions:

1. What type of services do you provide? Do you specialize or offer a range of services?
2. What software products do you use, and what do you use them for?
3. Any organization or planning tips you can share that you wish you had known when you started?

Thanks so much for reading, and I look forward to any information you can provide.

Here is the list seller provided me -> https://pcpartpicker.com/list/74CpPF
This is the requirements I sent them.
We need a pre-built PC for a developer in our company. System must be compatible with Fedora 40 (Xorg) without proprietary drivers. Should support 2 * 1440p monitors each running 144hz. Must have 2.5Gbe LAN as our office runs 10G networking. Need at least 16GB memory in dual channel. Storage need minimum 64GB but prefer M.2.
Having VGA would be a bonus. We prefer PC to be smaller and lightweight, easy to move around.
System must be snappy, developer will build and run code in our remote server containers, so bulk of the load will be out-sourced, developer must be able to multi-task while coding, with browser, and maybe screen sharing. Will be using VSCode, GoLand, CLion IDEs. Again, all the code will be run on a remote server, this system just needs to support IDE perfectly without hanging, running LSP, plugins etc.
Provide me with cheapest option for what I require.
Seller quoted me $699.99 with 2 year service warranty.

I’m currently abroad (outside of the U.S.) I went to a local dentist for cleaning. The experience and the dental office is pretty much the same as at the dentists in the U.S. (minus the x10 charge.)
The local dentist told me that I need a crown. He quoted around $450 USD for it.
I’m wondering if they are using the same materials etc as the dentists would do in the U.S.?

B1672 - Blue Carbon (Interagency Working Group) Bill - Second Reading

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A
B I L L
T O
Amend the Equality Act 2010 to replace the protected characteristic of marriage and civil partnership with a new protected characteristic of relationship status; to extend excluded discrimination protections to relationship status; to remove certain exceptions to discrimination law; and for connected purposes.
Bᴇ ɪᴛ ᴇɴᴀᴄᴛᴇᴅ by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Section 1: Definitions
For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions apply —
(1) Coastal Blue Carbon Ecosystems —

(a) The term “coastal blue carbon ecosystems” means vegetated coastal habitats, including mangroves, tidal marshes, seagrasses, kelp forests, and other tidal, freshwater, or salt-water wetlands, that have the ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere, accumulate carbon in biomass for years to decades, and store carbon in soils for centuries to millennia. (b) The term “coastal blue carbon ecosystems” includes autochthonous carbon and allochthonous carbon.

(2) The term “Interagency Working Group” means the Interagency Working Group on Coastal Blue Carbon established under Section 2(1).
Section 2: Interagency working group on coastal Blue Carbon
(1) The Secretary of State shall establish an interagency working group, to be known as the “Interagency Working Group on Coastal Blue Carbon”.
(2) The Interagency Working Group shall be comprised of senior representatives from—

(a) the Environment Agency; (b) the Marine Management Organisation; (c) Natural England; (d) the Office for Environmental Protection; (e) the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science; (f) the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; (g) the Geospatial Commission; (h) the UK Investment Bank;

(3) The Secretary of State may set regulations, subject to negative procedure, to amend the representative agencies within subsection (2).
(4) The Interagency Working Group functions shall include but not be limited to —

(a) oversee the development, updates, and maintenance of a national map and inventory of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including habitat types, with a regional focus in analysis that is usable for local-level conservation, planning, and restoration; (b) develop a strategic assessment of the biophysical, chemical, social, statutory, regulatory, and economic impediments to conservation and restoration of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including the vulnerability of coastal blue carbon ecosystems to climate impacts, such as sea-level rise and ocean and coastal acidification, and other environmental and human stressors; (c) develop a national strategy for foundational science necessary to study, synthesise, and evaluate the effects of climate change and environmental and human stressors on sequestration rates and capabilities of coastal blue carbon ecosystems conservation, with input from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; (d) establish national conservation and restoration priorities for coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including an assessment of Federal funding being used for conservation and restoration efforts; (e) ensure the continuity, use, and interoperability of data assets, including data assets available through the Geospatial Commission; and (f) assess legal authorities in effect as of the date of the enactment of this Act to conserve and restore coastal blue carbon ecosystems.

Section 3: Strategic Plan and Parliamentary Submissions
(1) No later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Interagency Working Group shall submit to Parliament a report containing the following:

(a) A summary of any public funded research, monitoring, conservation, and restoration activities relating to coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including— (i) the budget for each such activity; and (ii) a description of the progress made by each such activity in advancing the national priorities. (b) An assessment of biophysical, chemical, social, statutory, regulatory, and economic impediments to conservation and restoration of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including the vulnerability of coastal blue carbon ecosystems to climate impacts, such as sea-level rise and ocean and coastal acidification, and other environmental and human stressors.

(2) The Interagency Working Group shall create a strategic plan for public investments in basic research, development, demonstration, long-term monitoring and stewardship, and deployment of coastal blue carbon ecosystem projects for the 5-year period beginning on the date on which the first fiscal year after the date on which the report is submitted under subsection (1) begins.
(3) The plan required by subsection (2) shall—

(a) include an assessment of the use of Federal programs existing as of the date of the enactment of this Act to conserve and restore coastal blue carbon ecosystems; and (b) identify any additional authorities or programs that may be needed to conserve and restore such ecosystems.

(4) The Interagency Working Group shall—

(a) on a date that is no later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act and not earlier than the date on which the report required by subsection (1) is submitted, submit to Parliament the strategic plan required by subsection (2); and (b) submit a revised version of such a plan no less frequently than once every 5 years thereafter.

(5) No later than 90 days before the date on which the strategic plan or any revised version of such plan is submitted, the Interagency Working Group shall—

(a) publish such plan to be publicly available; and (b) provide an opportunity for submission of public comments for a period of not less than 60 days.

Section 4: Map and Inventory of coastal blue carbon Ecosystems
(1) The Interagency Working Group, utilising the Geospatial Commission systems, shall produce, update, and maintain a national-level map and inventory of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including—

(a) the types of habitats and species in such ecosystems; (b) the condition of such habitats, including whether a habitat is degraded, drained, eutrophic, or tidally restricted; (c) the type of public or private ownership and any protected status of such ecosystems; (d) the size of such ecosystems; (e) the salinity boundaries of such ecosystems; (f) the tidal boundaries of such ecosystems; (g) an assessment of carbon sequestration potential, methane production, and net greenhouse gas reductions with respect to such ecosystems, including consideration of— (i) quantification; (ii) verifiability; (iii) comparison to a historical baseline as available; and (iv) permanence of those benefits; (h) an assessment of co-benefits of ecosystem and carbon sequestration; (i) the potential for landward migration as a result of sea level rise; (j) any upstream restrictions detrimental to the watershed process and conditions such as dams, dikes, levees, and other water management practices; (k) the conversion of such ecosystems to other land uses and the cause of such conversion; and (l) a depiction of the effects of climate change, including sea level rise, environmental stressors, and human stressors on the sequestration rate, carbon storage, and potential of such ecosystems.

(2) In carrying out subsection (a), the Interagency Working Group shall—

(a) incorporate, to the extent practicable, existing data, as determined on the date of the enactment of this Act, collected through public funded research by a public agency and peer-reviewed published works; (b) engage regional experts, public agencies, and additional data and information resources in order to accurately account for regional differences in coastal blue carbon ecosystems.

(3) The Interagency Working Group shall use the national map and inventory produced under subsection (1)—

(a) to assess the carbon sequestration potential of different coastal blue carbon ecosystems and account for any regional differences; (b) to assess and quantify emissions from degraded and destroyed coastal blue carbon ecosystems; (c) to develop regional assessments in partnership with, or to provide technical assistance to— (i) regional and local government agencies; and (ii) regional information coordination bodies (d) to assess degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems and the potential for restoration of such ecosystems, including developing scenario modelling to identify vulnerable land areas and living shorelines where management, conservation, and restoration efforts should be focused; (e) to produce predictions relating to coastal blue carbon ecosystems and carbon sequestration rates in the context of climate change, environmental stressors, and human stressors; and (f) to inform the creation of the annual Inventory of UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks.

Section 5: Restoration and conservation of coastal blue carbon ecosystems
(1) The Secretary of State shall—

(a) lead the Interagency Working Group in implementing the strategic plan; (b) coordinate monitoring and research efforts among public agencies in cooperation with local governments, academic institutions, international partners, and nongovernmental organisations; (c) in coordination with the Interagency Working Group, and as informed by the report under section 3(e)(1), identify— (i) national conservation and restoration priorities for coastal blue carbon ecosystems that would produce the highest rate of carbon sequestration and greatest ecosystem benefits, such as flood protection, soil and beach retention, erosion reduction, biodiversity, water purification, and nutrient cycling, in the context of other environmental stressors and climate change; and (ii) ways to improve coordination and to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among public agencies and departments with respect to research on coastal blue carbon ecosystems through existing and new coastal management networks; and (d) in coordination with local governments and coastal stakeholders, develop integrated pilot programs to restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems in accordance with subsection (b).

(2) In carrying out subsection (1)(d), the Secretary of State shall establish one or more integrated national pilot programs that—

(a) further develop— (i) best management practices, including design criteria and performance functions for restoration of coastal blue carbon ecosystems; (ii) nature-based adaptation strategies; (iii) restoration areas that intersect with built environments as green-gray infrastructure projects; (iv) management practices for landward progression, migration, or loss of coastal blue carbon ecosystems; (v) best management practices to account for latitudinal biogeographic factors; and (vi) best management practices for restoration of hypersaline coastal ecosystems and estuarine ecosystems; and (b) identify potential barriers to restoration management efforts.

(3) The Secretary of State shall ensure that pilot programs under Subsection (2) cover geographically, socioeconomically, and ecologically diverse locations with—

(a) significant ecological, economic, and social benefits, such as flood protection, soil and beach retention, erosion reduction, biodiversity, water purification, and nutrient cycling to reduce hypoxic conditions; and (b) maximum potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction, taking into account— (i) quantification; (ii) verifiability; (iii) additionality, as compared to an appropriate historical baseline determined by the Interagency Working Group; and (iv) permanence of those benefits.

(4) The Secretary of State shall—

(a) establish a procedure via regulation for reviewing applications for pilot programs under Subsection (2); (b) encourage applications from minority serving institutions; and (c) consider proposals from institutions that may not have adequate resources.

(5) The Secretary of State shall ensure, through consultation with the Interagency Working Group, that the goals and metrics for pilot programs under Subsection (2) are communicated to the appropriate authorities, coastal stakeholders, resource managers, academia, and the general public.
(6) The Secretary of State shall coordinate with—

(a) relevant public agencies and departments specified under section 2(2) to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among such agencies and departments with respect to restoration programs; and (b) relevant public authorities and local government entities.

(7) In carrying out pilot programs under Subsection (2), the Secretary of State shall give priority to proposed eligible restoration activities that would—

(a) result in long-term sequestration of carbon stored in coastal and marine environments; (b) conserve key habitats for fish, wildlife, and the maintenance of biodiversity; (c) provide coastal protection from storms, flooding, and land-based pollution; (d) restore optimal salinities and chlorophyll levels in estuarine and coastal environments or lead to other improvements to water quality; and (e) conserve coastal resources of national, historical, and cultural significance.

(8) Any project performed under a pilot program under subsection (2) shall be conducted within the territorial boundaries of the United Kingdom.
Section 6: Coastal Carbon Database
(1) The Interagency Working Group, in coordination with the Secretary of State shall —

(a) provide for the long-term stewardship of, and access to, data relating to coastal blue carbon ecosystems and national mapping, by supporting the maintenance of a Coastal Carbon Database; (b) process, store, archive, provide access to, and incorporate (to the extent practicable) all data relating to coastal carbon collected through publicly funded research by a public agency, an academic institution, or another relevant entity; (d) ensure that existing global and national data assets, as determined on the date of the enactment of this Act, are incorporated into the Coastal Carbon Database, to the greatest extent practicable; (e) establish best practices for sharing coastal carbon data with local and national governments, coastal stakeholders, resource managers, and academia; (f) work to disseminate the data available through the Coastal Carbon Database to the greatest extent practicable; and (g) develop digital tools and resources to support the public use of the Coastal Carbon Database.

Section 7: Assessments Of Carbon Dioxide Storage In Deep Seafloor Environments And Of Coastal Carbon Markets
(1) No later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Interagency Working Group shall seek to enter into an agreement with the relevant research and academic institutions to conduct—

(a) a comprehensive assessment of— (ii) the long-term effects of containment of carbon dioxide in a deep seafloor environment on marine ecosystems; (iii) the socioeconomic effects of such containment on existing ocean users and communities; and (iv) the integrity of existing storage technologies, as determined on the date of the enactment of this Act; (b) a comprehensive assessment of pathways, methods, and technologies able to directly remove carbon dioxide from the oceans by the removal of dissolved carbon dioxide from seawater through engineered or inorganic processes, including filters, membranes, phase change systems, or other technological pathways; and (c) a comprehensive assessment of the viability of using coastal macroalgae cultivation and sustainable coastal wetlands management and restoration for carbon sequestration, which shall consider— (i) environmental and socioeconomic effects on coastal communities; (ii) durability and cost per ton of carbon dioxide sequestered using coastal macroalgae cultivation and sustainable coastal wetlands management in a variety of regions of the United Kingdom; (iii) research, data, resource management, monitoring, reporting, life cycle assessment, and verification improvements necessary to develop a carbon market around coastal macroalgae cultivation and sustainable coastal wetlands management or restoration; and (iv) relevant successes and failures of carbon markets in agriculture, forestry, and wetlands and how such successes and failures might apply to a future coastal carbon market.

Section 8: Extent, Commencement and Title
(1) This Act shall be known as the ‘Blue Carbon (Interagency Working Group) Act’
(2) This Act shall commence exactly 3 months from when it receives Royal Assent.
(3) This Act shall extend to the United Kingdom.
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This Bill was submitted by The Right Honourable Dame u/Waffel-lol LT CMG GCMG, Leader of His Majesty’s Official Opposition, on behalf of the 39th Official Opposition.
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Inspired Documents
Blue Carbon
HR.2750
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Opening Speech:
Deputy Speaker,
The fight against climate change is one of upmost importance. As the Liberal Democrats have been leaders on sustainable development and supporting environmentally conscious policies, we are proud to be presenting the following Bill to the House. It is our duty as stewards of this planet to act decisively and collaboratively. This Bill is a critical piece of legislation aimed at harnessing the power of our coastal ecosystems to combat climate change.
Coastal blue carbon ecosystems, such as mangroves, tidal marshes, seagrasses, and kelp forests, play an invaluable role in sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, storing it for centuries, and providing essential benefits like flood protection, erosion control, and biodiversity support. However, these ecosystems are under threat from rising sea levels, pollution, and human activity. Our Bill proposes the establishment of an Interagency Working Group on Coastal Blue Carbon, comprising senior representatives from key environmental and marine agencies. This group will be tasked with developing a comprehensive national strategy for the conservation and restoration of our coastal blue carbon ecosystems. They will oversee the creation of a national map and inventory of these vital habitats, assess the impediments to their preservation, and identify national conservation and restoration priorities.
Importantly, our Bill calls for the development of integrated pilot programs to restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems, focusing on areas with the highest potential for carbon sequestration and ecosystem benefits. Furthermore, it mandates the creation of a Coastal Carbon Database to ensure long-term management, recording and updating of data and support public access to vital information building off the necessary infrastructure and work we achieved with our Geospatial Commission established through the Geospatial Data Act.
This Bill is not just about environmental stewardship; it is about ensuring the resilience and sustainability of our coastal communities and the broader environment. It is why we urge the House to vote in favour of this Bill as we take a significant step towards mitigating the impacts of climate change, protecting our natural heritage, and securing a healthier future for generations to come.
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Lords may debate and submit amendments until the 12th of June at 10pm BST.
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