Houses with inground pools near me

TL/DR: Can you leave loose/unplugged wires behind your thermostat on the wall?
Recently upgraded my thermostat to the HH T9 from my regular old builder's grade (Robert Shaw). Had a professional install the new thermostat, who did so incorrectly. The heat pump would not shut off, unless I switched the actual breaker off. Tech insisted this was a manufacturer's defect with the device and offered to install his own for $$$.
Called Honeywell. Customer service said it was wired incorrectly and instructed me to pull the W (white) wire, because I have a heat pump (HVAC?). Apparently, the W wire is what causes my heat pump to override and run even with the cool setting on. According to customer service, this should be common knowledge and the technician should have known not to plug that wire in. He wasn't a Honeywell Technician and admitted to being unfamiliar with the device, so to me, the error is acceptable.
It works however Customer Service advised just to leave the W wire disconnected and button everything up. The unit is currently cooling my house as it should. Can anyone shed any more light on this? Is it ok to leave that wire just in there? Isn't it plugged into something on the other end? I feel like I should at least tape it. Any help is appreciated.

My wife (25f) and I (28m) have been married 6 years and have 3 kids together. I had a very strange feeling a couple weeks back in my gut that she wasn’t being faithful. She would get to work an hour early, delete all of her text messages, not enjoy the gifts that I give her, taking birth control but we haven’t had sex in over a month. Any time I tell her I love her she ignores it and when I say it again she says “stop asking me a question”. She blames her lack of affection and lack of interaction at all with me on her being tired. I’m a stay at home dad and take care of the house and our kids. When I asked her if she was having an affair, she said no and I believed her but she asked me where is the evidence of her cheating.. which I thought was a guilty thing to ask. I don’t know if she’s not being faithful, but I do know that I’m not happy and don’t know what steps to take. I’ve suggested counseling and seeking help but she said “why? So they can tell you you’re right?” Idk what to do

What will conditions be like in the High Sierra this season after its record-breaking winter? How should this affect my trip planning, gear selection, and skills? And how can I find conditions updates before I go?
For those planning High Sierra trips who have uncertain answers to these questions, I have two resources that should help:

1. This blog post, published last week, in which I discuss the likely conditions and how to safely manage them (if they can't be entirely avoided).
   
2. An "Ask Us Anything" event tomorrow/Wednesday night, 6-7 PM Pacific Time, hosted by Katie Gerber and me. We'd like to keep the conversation focused on the unique challenges of the 2023 season, but we can also answer questions about standard topics like permits and routes.
   

This event will be recorded and posted afterwards, if you can't make the live edition. If you have questions, you can email them ahead of time to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) or you can leave a comment in this thread.
Overall, 2023 will not be a normal season, with snowpack, high water, and intense mosquitoes lingering through August at least. The conditions have the potential to ruin naïve plans, and probably to cause a few unnecessary casualties too. I hope this information will help keep some people happier and safer this year.
About Katie Gerber
Katie has thru-hiked the Pacific Crest, Continental Divide, Oregon Desert, and Colorado Trails, as well as the Wind River High Route and an end-to-end thru-hike of the Grand Canyon. She’s been guiding for me since 2020 and joined this year full-time as the Co-Director.
About me
Most pertinent to this conversation, I have been backpacking in the High Sierra for nearly twenty years, including as a guide for twelve. I’ve thru-hiked the JMT, the JMT/PCT through the High Sierra (twice, in late-June and late-May), and the Sierra High Route; and I wrote the guidebooks for the Kings Canyon High Basin Route and Yosemite High Route.

So I have a question about inheriting a house. Both my parents are now deceased and I have inherited their house (I was not on the deed at the time of their death). For the past several years before they passed away I lived with them as their primary caregiver.
The house is too big for me alone, and I am considering selling eventually (perhaps within a year or two). Will I have to pay capital gains?

I thought we had this. She was doing so good! She potties outside and gets a treat and can play inside for hours until her next potty break without issue. Today I decided to game in my office for 1 hour. She had just gone out at 9:30 and it was only 11. She was playing and eating and fine on her own in the living room...her puppy proofed place. I set down and load up my game and I hear peeing. I didn't even get a few minutes of play. So I put her in her kennel (she had a few snuffle find treats in there) and cleaned up the mess. I then set down to some lunch because my game time was now over. When I finished eating I took her out to the yard where she peed again! Idk maybe she just really had to go?
Anyway I'm out here with her now letting her run and sniff and enjoy the nice weather for awhile then it's back to the kennel so I can take a nap and so can she. Having to constantly watch her or worry that I can't do anything is exhausting. Oh I'm also 7 months pregnant.
Someone earlier mentioned I should rehome her because "she's not getting enough enrichment" that's stuck with me. We saved her from a shelter, her life was cage, short walk, more cage. She now gets kennel to sleep but most of the time we are either in the yard on the tether with me watching or she's loose in the livingroom playing with numerous toys and I'm on the couch scrolling and throwing a ball. Also my husband and I walk with her around the block twice a day morning and night where she gets to sniff and explore and see people and other dogs (though she's not quite to a point of us letting her be pet by strangers or seeing other dogs until she is more calm). I'm doing my best with what I have. I stay home while my husband works to take care of the house and the pets, and soon a baby.
I just needed to share that...some days are worse than others. Some days you're worn out, covered in mud, and playing fetch when you'd rather be inside sleeping. Some days the dog ends up in the kennel for a long time while you buy a car. Some days the dog spends hours outside digging up the yard and being happy while you and your spouse grill and enjoy a nice fire. Point is all days look different. All lives are different. Am I frustrated today? Very much. But am I still trying my best to provide? Also yes. I want this dog. Shes learning and so am I. Our life isn't perfect but it's better that shelter life.

Hello fellow Civilians! I just received a job offer for a position with a fairly major American city, and it seems like a good fit overall. That said, I'd still like to get a better salary than what I was offered, and I wouldn't advise anyone to take the first offer myself. I've worked for consultants up to this point, and I had no problem negotiating with them, but I'm wondering if/how the dynamic is different when negotiating in the public sector. They seem to have a lot less wiggle room for negotiation, so I don't want to overplay my hand, but I also really want to see a better number from them.
I can tell they really want me. For a relatively large bureaucracy to get back to me within a couple days of application, set up an interview the next week, then offer the job (with signing bonus) as soon as they got back from the holiday weekend, I know there has to be some string pulling behind the scenes.
Does anyone have any suggestions for how to negotiate upward for a government position? The number they offered me is smack in the middle of the posted pay range, at the highest end of narrower "anticipated hiring salary range", but inflation is eating my sack lunch like it is with everyone else. A couple angles I've considered:

• I've had successful interviews with other government agencies and even other departments within the city. Do I mention this when countering?
  
• I bought a modest starter home as soon as my finances allowed, and property taxes and insurance premiums have notably gone up even just in the couple years I've been in this house. I know mortgage underwriters aim to keep one's mortgage debt-to-income ratio below 28%, but factors outside my control have actually pushed my mortgage beyond that range (with both my current salary and this initial offer). Is telling them something along the lines of "Based off standard financial guidelines, my salary needs to be such that my mortgage of $X/month is 28% of my monthly income, which comes out to $Y/year." likely to get any sympathy or land in a successful way? Or would it just come across as weird and overly personal? This whole deal where even us civil engineers are getting priced out of many major cities is getting to me, and I really want to drive the point home that I'm really not haggling because I'm some sort of money grubber.
  

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Hello folk not sure if some may go through what i am going, but if you are im not sure what say. Anyway. Im a 20m (soon to be 21 in a few days) and i feel like im just trapped with i got my self into. I may just dog myself in a hole with everything ive done, i can start with saying i am happy with my life. I have a Gf of 3+ year since high school, we have lived together for about a year and are expected a little one in a couple of month. I can i feel like all my feeling come from finances. I probably have taken a bigger bit than i can handle. I feeling i dont make enough to support my life, i live no luxurious life style by mean but i feel like all my bills leave me with just enough money to get me gas for the week just to get to work. Ive tried to take a 2nd job but i got even more tired and ended up making less. Im currently working 45-50hrs weekly an about ~$3k. Ive kept taking loans just to bring down bills but it just keeps getting worse. I dont if i just cant handle money or just dont know just take the hit if things get paid late, take the hit for my credit to stop taking out loans. I apologize if you have a stroke reading this i dont know how to word my feeling. Ive never talked out my feeling to anyone.
For those wondering, currently my gf is not working. She had quit since we found out she was pregnant. She used to work part time but it was hard for her body and metal health. I have never grown up with a father figure and i seen how are my mother had to work just to support 3 kids. I do not want my child to go through that, so i want to me the money of the house to ensure my child and gf dont have to go through what i did.
Sorry for this I just needed to get this out..

My (38f) boyfriend (38m) and I argued about his smoking. 🍃 He is self medicating his ADHD. In addition to smoking he takes Ritalin. I’d like him to quit smoking, because it makes him very irritable and it’s not pleasant to be around for me, and neither for his 2 kids. He’s tried to quit several times…. But unsuccessful unfortunately.
Last time I saw him (sunday) he picked a fight with me for no reason. I came an hour earlier than we agreed upon and instead of being happy it set him off, he said he needed the extra time to vacuum his house and get his finances in order. I live so close so I said no problem, sorry for coming early, I can leave and come back in an hour? This made him grumpy. He has psoriasis and it flared up over the past weeks or so. I thought it was looking better, but he didn’t. He became irritable so I said “ok, if you feel it doesn’t look better, then I trust your judgment because it’s your body.” He was grumpy about it. At this point I became emotional because I felt something was off and he hadn’t really acknowledged our 3rd anniversary. We went to the museum that day and it was fine. Afterwards he took a very long trip to the supermarket and it clicked, I asked if he was smoking again and he said yes.
I was angry because I don’t like him smoking, he becomes so irritable. At this point we had dinner with the kids, and put them to bed. Then we had a calm discussion, no shouting, just him explaining he has a really hard time. I empathize with him but he keeps repeating that I don’t understand. At one point he said “you never ask me about the reason why I smoke!” Or “I don’t cheat, smoking is way less bad than cheating!” Or “the only reason I quit was because your mom died of cancer and you guilted me into quitting.” (Which is only in part true, he had a double pneumonia at the time and he himself wanted to quit. I just don’t get why he’s saying ugly things like me not understanding him. I’m his life partner.
After this discussion he agreed in getting help for his addiction. And I agreed on getting a formal diagnosis for my ADHD (because I forget so much and it’s affecting me badly).
Should I take a step back from all this? I’m emotional about it. I don’t mean ending the relationship, I mean how to best manage my feelings.
Thank you.

My (26F) fiancé (45m) has a child (11m) from a previous marriage that lives with us full time including summers and holidays even though the custody agreement states that the mom should have him every other weekend, summers, and every other holiday. The bio mom has not seen or talked to her child in years. I have been involved since 2019. Sometime within the past 2 years SS has started calling me mom. I've tried to encourage another name like "miss insert_first_name" but we always end back up at mom. I used to want kids but after seeing my partner be a parent I don't think it's wise that we have kids together. Yall, there is no discipline or structure in my home. The father "just wants the child to be happy". The kid is "homeschooled" and is not learning anything at all. He cannot read, write, tie his shoes or do basic math aside from adding one digit numbers. He sometimes writes backwards (right to left) as well as writing individual letters backwards. On a typical school day his father will have him do a random worksheet from a 1st or second grade workbook and then he goes outside or spends the rest of the day on the game or tablet. Everyday I mass clean our apartment and by the end of the day it's filthy and looks untouched. There will be food, plates, cups, toys and random things everywhere. I've tried to direct him to play in his room but his father says it's his house too and always let's him take over shared areas. He goes into the kitchen fridge and freezer with filthy hands making inedible "projects" and "snacks". He also makes noise ALL DAY sun up to sun down. Constantly talking to himself and making random sound effects.
I cannot even enjoy my own home and space.
This entire living arrangement is quite literally driving me insane. At this point I have no idea what to do but remove myself from the situation. It's like over time the problems just pile up, nothing is being resolved.

I just wanted to post this here because I didn't realize the difference this thing could make to my daily life and decisions.
First, I am Type 2, and on several non-insulin meds; Metformin, Amaryl, Tradjenta, Mounjaro, and another pill that I can't recall at the moment. I expected the meds to do the heavy lifting. I was only checking my glucose levels in the morning, and while high (250-325 for the 11 months prior), I never felt bad. I occasionally ate healthy, but often ate gummy candy (seriously my weakness) and sugary baked goods.
2 things have changed in the 6 weeks. First, I got my Libre 2, and now Libre 3. I see the effect of my decisions in near real-time. Second, my daughter went from 0 to seriously diabetic in a little over a year. My A1C 6 weeks ago was 11.3. Her A1C 3 weeks ago was 14.8.
I need to be a good example for her. She's struggling as the baker in the family. I've worked hard to eat right and show better food/snack options that are good for us both. I knew all along what I should be doing, but now I'm doing it for her and with her. Sharing our numbers with each other keeps us both accountable.
She's still trying to get under control and they are tweaking her meds every 1-2 weeks as we try to get the numbers down. I, however, have gone from 250-325 being a low number for me to regularly in my target range of 100-180. Nightscout says I'm there about 90% of the time over the last couple of weeks.
I've also learned that if I behave most of the time, when I do indulge in something, my body and levels recover much faster. I hope this helps my daughter see that it isn't all doom and gloom for the foods she likes, and there will be some time to enjoy a bit of them in the future.

Hi everyone! I think I've reached this age where life has become rather monotonic and it's become harder to make friends. I miss that genuine friendship, where we can just be ourselves, share everything with no judgement and talk about things from little funny things to deep conversations and getting to really know each other. I also quit my job recently so I got plenty of time on my hands, so thought I'd put myself out there!
Although I think there are more than just common interests to find common ground here is a bit about me: I work as a software developer, I like football, tennis and padel. Some of my fav shows are the office, house m.d., mr robot and the midnight gospel. I also write when I am in the right headspace and enjoy the outdoors when the weather allows.
I use Discord or Telegram, but reddit chat is fine too. Looking forward to making new connections!

My husband (39M) is very critical with everything I (33F) do and I do not know how to tell him to stop.
My husband (39M) is very critical with everything I (33F) do and I do not know how to tell him to stop.
We have been together for a decade and married a few months. It is not a new thing but lately we have been tought a very stressful period due to external reasons (leaks in the house, neighbour harassing us...) and it has gotten really bad. I am very low self steem and a few years ago I became chronically ill and disabled and i just dont have any steem left so criticism really harms me.
He does not mean bad but he is constantly telling me what to do as if i am a child. Yesterday i drove with him to the city to translate for some medical tests (he is not fluent yet in my language). I tought that i was being kind by doing that but instead of being thanksful he was the whole time criticizing my driving or telling me to do stuff 'move here, give the receptionist the papers' as if i am stupid.
We have been dealing for months with leaks in our new home and a upstairs neighbor that is a narcissistic lunatic and refuses access to the insurance to fix our leaks. We are going to court to force her to let us fix them but its been months. The last week (on my birthday) we got water in the fuse box and the electricity went out. I have been handling all the talks with the insurance and the lawyers but everything goes very slow in Spain. He cannot do any of that because of the language, and i dont mind doing it. But i am very stressed and taking medication for anxiety.
But he is constantly telling me to call the lawyer to "speed things up" send emails, talk to the insurance etc. We are waiting for the couthouse, there is nothing we can do but he doesnt believe me. Even said that he might call himself ( not speaking the language) because i am not putting pressure enough on them.
Anyway i love him but i cannot survive the constant critics. I am ill, in pain, disabled and have dealt with suicidal toughts for years. Every time that he does this i die a bit inside and i dont know how long i will stay strong.
I am very bad at communicating without getting upset and I do not know how to talk to him about this.
Any advice?
Please refrain from simply saying "divorce him". Its a solution that i might consider in the long term but its not what i am looking for now. I just want to learn how to explain him that he is harming me by doing this.

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I’m a little over a month into this hell of a new life and a tiny bit of the fog is lifting and it’s so crazy how oblivious people are. People that have called themselves my closest friends have maybe checked in twice and always saying, let me know if you need help. Like it’s my job to tell them how to be supportive? I’m a wrong that this makes me furious? You’re supposed to be my friend and can’t see that it takes everything out of me to wake up and take care of my baby every day that I could use help with the dogs and groceries and stuff around the house, organizing all the new responsibilities but that that’s not something you ask of someone. I just want to shut myself away from them, tell them to F off. The only people I can count on is my mom and sister who flew thousands of miles so I wasn’t alone but they can’t stay forever. I’m just so angry, him and I always said you can only count on family at the end of the day but it hurts that that’s actually true and now I don’t even have him anymore, my best friend, my teammate, the love of my life. I miss you so much babaloo

~ Ranting time ~ Sorry for the swears, I really needed to get them out.
I'm very self aware and I know some people want to help. But it's the way they ask that really gets me.
It took 6 days for his urn to come back home. I don't remember those 6 days but the moment his ashes entered our home, I felt appeased. Finally he's home. I've been very vocal on this because home is where I want to be. Close to what is left of him. I've explained it on multiple occasions.
Now, it's hasn't been a month, people are non-stop telling me " I can go get you and you can stay with me all you want and balablabal".
It ticks me the füçk off because NONE of them actually listen to me when I explain the feeling of appease I got when the urn was brought home. None are asking me what can be done to help me or how they can help me They presume that them picking me up like a füçking demsel in destress will help me. They presume I don't have food and bring stuff that I don't eat because they didn't even bother to ask what I want. Side note - I have medication prior to all this that diminished my appetite. So much wasted food went to the dump (freezer were already full). I hate wasting food. So that also put me in an unpleasant mood.
Yes they want to help but the help doesn't come from a genuine place or empathetic either. They think on how they can help, "they" is first instead of what I need. Y'all know I am doing the legal paperwork, so obliviously no I can't just leave on a füçking vacation to your place only to be left alone while you work. Jesus füçk, do they actually think or even imagine what my daily life has become? I'm running left and right getting papers and phone calls.
If they really wanted to help, in any way possible, the first question would be "Are you okay where you are ?" And followed by "Is there anyway I can help?" Then you can offer your hospitality to welcome me at your place, but not upfront. Stop putting your need to comfort me above my actual needs.
I'm also aware that becoming a hermit isn't healthy either - so yes I do go out of the house. I'm careful to not turn this coping mechanism into a toxic one. The comfort of home and proximity to the urn appeases my panics.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far. 💣

Our new mattress arrived today and It got me thinking about our bedroom. We rent a 2 bed house with one large and medium size. Up until about 20 minutes ago we had our bed in the large room but I've been craving an office/creative space so i decided to move the bed and with that decision came a whole lot of other furniture moving. I put up a temporary curtain as the second bedroom didn't have one and i took our dining table/desk and moved it upstairs to be a desk in the large room. I'm feeling excited about all the changes but just got a little nervous about what my boyfriend might think when he sees them. I'm hoping he'll be happy and see the intension behind the furniture moving. The new arrangement also means we can move his desk from under the stairs and into the large room with my desk which I hope he can feel excited about🤞🤞🤞🤞 Anyone else somehow discover all the energy in the world when it comes to stuff like moving furniture?

It's been a long road but the community where I live is about to get on the fiber internet train it looks like. Now here’s the conundrum:
The unit which I own was built to have a network hub setup in the primary closet upstairs that feeds everywhere in the house. I originally was thinking they would feed the fiber through the existing pathways but I have learned recently that is almost certainly not possible since the existing wires are likely stapled into the support beams. The plan will likely to be feeding the wire through the backyard and have the main hub exist in the downstairs living area. This is less than ideal because:

1. I would rather not have the network equipment living in two separate spots (its visually annoying and there's limited space here).
   
2. Some of the outlets were wired with Cat5 rather than Cat5e so hypothetically if I used one of the outlets to feed the modem downstairs to the switch I have installed upstairs to support the wired connections it would probably be throttling potential speeds.
   

My current plan is to run a few lines of conduit through the attic, two or three to existing wall jacks to run newer cable (I plan on cutting and taping off the existing stuff), and one to the exterior in the backyard for when the fiber guys come out to do installation. It's not clear yet what the timeline is on that but I imagine this as being a summer long job done in increments on the weekend especially due to my own lack of experience so I may as well start preparing.
Any of that standout as not making sense?
Some questions I have are:
-When the fiber guy eventually does show up for installation is there anything I need to do (aside from having a wire pull ready to go) to get him on board with this to run the fiber cable through it? I don’t want to spend all this time prepping only to have him tell me he’s just gonna ignore it and drill another hole in the wall. Any sort of panel I can pre install? Specific kind of conduit I must use? Should I just run the fiber on my own and let them terminate it? Just thinking out loud here.
-I replaced the hub in my primary closet with an unmanaged netgear switch. My current network setup has a few spots both downstairs and upstairs where I’m running a switch to a switch to get more wired ports. It seems like the popular opinion is that its better to just have a direct line if possible so I figure I might as well just run 3-4 wires through the conduit instead in some key spots. This make sense?
-To be clear: I know Cat-8 is overkill/notreal/etc. Its a long story but suffice it to say I was in the market for some cat-6a cable and I actually acquired a spool of Cat-8 for significantly cheaper….so that’s what I’m gonna run.

to start, i’m 7 months pregnant with my first. this is the first grandchild for my in laws. prior to being married, i would consider my mil a mildly JN. there’s never been a major event, but comments here and there that could be absolutely taken as rude or negative and always exasperated by drinking. my husband and i had open conversations about boundaries, on the same page etc.
After we got married a year ago and now pregnant, she became sooo much more tolerable. here and there some annoying occurrences but way nicer to be around.
also side note, the drinking issue is something SO and i have discussed in detail and are in agreement with for when baby arrives ( she’s a social drinker and when she does, she’s incredibly obnoxious.) concerns with that are mostly related to holidays/bigger gatherings.
now, here’s where i need an outsider to tell me if im nitpicking. i do appreciate how excited they are, but lately the little comments are making me nervous for when the baby comes and have really started annoying me.

1. we decided to wait until 20 weeks to tell everyone outside of immediate family (i’m 29 weeks now). she made comments constantly about how this was so hard for her and she wanted to tell the world she’s a grandma. (SIL and husband did address with her that it’s not about her after a visit where she made this comment legit 15 times).
   
2. she mentioned a gramom in her neighborhood that is always pushing a baby around and how she can’t wait for that. she also pointed out a easter decoration of a bunny and a baby bunny and said that’s her and her granddaughter.just weird to me but whatever i just nodded and said aw
   
3. i was/am stressing ab child care & work & concluded im not comfortable returning to my job FT after my leave. she did offer babysitting twice a week and keeps making comments and working in “how it’s all going to work out” when this isn’t a topic we were even talking about and clearly something that my husband hs told her is stressful for me.
   
4. now this past weekend at their beach house, we stayed 1 night. she offered me food every 15 mins. kept telling me to put my feet up , asking if I needed to lay down, if i’m fine in the sun, need to reapply sunscreen, pointed every single baby and stroller that went by. comments about how often the baby will need to eat. asked ab my prenatals and when i said i would take it when i got home(in 7 hours), made a face and uh oh you need to take them! When i mentioned in another convo myself and my nephew have a vitamin d deficiency, uh oh!! your baby may too!! (this doom and gloom is not subjective to just me and really what i couldn’t stand about her since i met her). when i said i was fine & didn’t need to put my feet up, she said i should..i said no i’m fine right now. under her breath, she said how she was always told t do that. And the one that really pissed me off is her saying she can’t wait to rock my baby in the hammock at the shore house. when my husband said that doesn’t sound safe (like the hammock could flip), she over reacted with “you’re just like so and so and over security dad” i replied with id rather he be that than oblivious, and she backed down “oh of course”.
   

i didn’t bring up what bothered me this past weekend bc i think my husband would say she was just trying to be nice and is excited. With the drinking or major issues, we are on the same page. but with little comments like this , I feel like he thinks I’m nitpicking and is sensitive. idk how to even bring it up since it was 3 days ago now. however I know it’s not gonna stop when the baby comes if not get worse. i also feel like she’s treating my baby like a new toy to show off or a status symbol.
would these comments annoy you or am I just being hormonal and sensitive? lol

The Meeting With the Contact
In one of Unity’s darker and less maintained districts, several miles down an unassuming maintenance tunnel, Aster knocked on a rusty steel hatch. The moment her knuckles finished rapping on the metal door hidden mechanisms squeaked as an internal bolt was undone and the door swung open. She heard the soft ween of servos as they struggled against the bulk of the door.
Without a moment of hesitation Astarte strode through the door knowing full well that the dark corners of the room could have held a waiting ambush. It did not do to show any fear when dealing with the mysterious shadow league. She had heard from Greyson how the contacts valued confidence above everything else. She wasn’t sure why, but had followed the advice anyway.
The contacts never worked through proxies. They had no known dead drops. And were notorious for handling everything in person.
It was a strange practice since logic dictated that information brokers as influential as the Shadow league should act with much more caution. But that same flaunting disregard for common convention was the trait that unnerved Astarte the most.
It unnerved her because it proved that the powerful brokers had nothing to fear.
Maybe it was arrogance, but her instincts said otherwise.
The door closed behind her, the harsh clunk telling her that she was now locked in. Soft lights in the room flicked of a slowly grew brighter to a level comfortable to human eyes. Aster’s cybernetic eye went red and flickered through several different spectrums of light as it scanned the room.
“An interesting piece of hardware.” A soft murmuring voice said from behind the desk in the center.
Astarte momentarily ignored the voice as she finished her scan. Her eye picked out only a single camera behind a fake patch of wall that looked completely normal from the outside. She focused on the camera, telling the rooms only other occupant that she was fully aware of the device.
Her scan complete she turned her head to focus of the short fuchsia froglike person within a bubble-like excursion suit. No word in the Union’s common tongue, or her own could pronounce the name of the person before her. Instead the Union had simply labeled them as Toxoid amphibians. A rather cold, but concise name.
There were many defense mechanisms used by prey species to ward off predators. Some opted to be big, strong, and move in large herds like the Trikes. Some just flew away. Others hid. But very few instead went for the survival strategy of being very visible and toxic as hell.
The creature before Astarte was one of only three Toxoid species in the Union. While safe to members of their own species, their skin could instantly paralyzed and kill any non-deathworld species on Femeri. And if Astarte had touched that bright purple skin she would be instantly floored with the worst pain imaginable. Not dead, but really wishing she was.
The Union definition of Toxoid was any highly toxic species, regardless of the atmospheric conditions. Though this particular species did in fact come from a world with high methane and ammonia content, less then Venus, but still deadly to Terrans. The only reason they weren’t classified as deathworlders was because the low gravity and gentle nature of their star made the claim seem a little absurd compared to your average Deathworlder.
The Toxoid met her gaze and held it without fear. Knowing that Astarte wouldn’t/couldn’t do anything to harm them. There face was pulled into a constant smile. Though this was a factor of their facial structure and not any sort of actual pleasure. This, matched with their small colorful appearance gave off the vibes of something small and harmless. An instinct she would have to actively suppress.
“Surprising, most of your kind are overwhelmed with nurturing instincts upon first seeing me. Especially females of your age.” The creature commented. The internal translator of her suit taking the creature’s hypersonic humming and giving it a squeaky, almost cartoonish, tone in galactic common.
“I’ve encountered your kind before, and the pain I felt that day from just one touch is enough to wipe away any cute impressions.”
The creature made a sounding like birds chirping “So its true, humans really can touch us without dying?”
Astarte grimaced at the memory “Yeah, but I sure wished I was dead. Only touched them with my hand, but in seconds my whole body was wracked with the worst pain my nerves could conjure. Couldn’t black out either.”
The Contact looked amused “And yet you survived.” They said pointedly. “We are in our own ways more dangerous than deathworlders. Even the Kruhur leave our few ships alone. As do most pirates. So why would you attack that particular merchant ship six of your Terran years ago?”
Aster wasn’t surprised by their knowledge, the sources of the shadow league stretched far and wide. “They had something I wanted, so I took it.”
The big eyelids of the Toxoid closed slowly. “Yes, weapons grade plutonium. I heard you made good use of it. Such inventive weapons too. Most think fusion weapons are pointless in space compared to pulse cannons and conventional missiles. Leave it to a human to find a way to make good use of an underutilized weapon.”
Astarte kept her face placid, but on the inside she was roiling at the knowledge that the Shadow League knew about the shield breaker cannon.
“You needn’t worry” the Contact continued “the Union doesn’t know, and even if we stole the plans we would be troubled to find crews with the nerve to detonate a super critical mass of plutonium within their own ship. My kind are quite cowardly compared to your people.”
“Fools rush in where angles fear to tread.” Astarte remarked absently. Downplaying their achievements.
The Toxoid leaned forward “and yet those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”
This time Astarte couldn’t hide her surprise. “Kennedy? Really?”
More bird chirps “Yes, I am quite amused by human history and the words of your past leaders. Your people strove for the stars long before they had the proper technology to reach them like every other species, on a high gravity world no less. And despite these hurdles you made it to your moon in record time, had stable colonies on a barren world like Mars, and launched one of the most interesting if a bit crude ships. A ship you recently purchased. Had you not met the Union so soon then I believe your people would have continued to shock the galaxy. In some ways your people were cut short, and yet in other ways they were given the opportunity to leap into the future. You are most intriguing, and it would be folly to not keep an eye on you. The Union believes your people to be on the decline, soon to be no longer a threat to their might. I am of a different opinion.”
It was surprising to meet a person who had her completely figured out. From just the subtext Astarte was sure this contact knew all her plans and secrets, or had at least a few very good guesses. And seemed to want to help her out.
Astarte gave the Contact a shrewd glare. “What are you playing at?”
Their heavy eyelids dropped into a lazy half blink before opening back up. She thought the gesture was either one of annoyance or amusement. “A favor, given to the right person, can pay dividends in the future.”
“And what kind of returns are you looking for?”
Another half blink. It probably meant amusement. “That isn’t for me to say. You’ve had a very positive relationship with our agents in Femeri, or Orion as you Terrans call it. it is the League desire to continue nourishing that relationship.”
Suspicious, but one didn’t deal with the galaxy’s most powerful info brokers without some ominous undertones. “Then I take it you know why I’m here.”
Another long blink, this time fully closing their lids. “Yes.”
“Can you tell us where it is?”
“No. Amaterasu was thorough in covering their trail. I can only say that its still on Unity.”
Fuck. Why can’t things ever be easy? “Can you narrow down our search?” Astarte asked changing directions.
“Yes. Property info, delivery schedules, informant reports. And much more. It’ll take time to narrow things down.”
“I’m not short on manpower. Or patience.”
“Good. Now there is just the matter of the price.”
“I get the sinking feeling that you’re not talking credits.” Astarte stated dryly.
“An accurate feeling.” The Contact retorted. “We are an organization of information brokers and middle men, but even we need our own middle men. We cast a wide net to pull in much, but sometimes our needs require a more direct approach.”
“Spies?” Astarte guessed.
“Yes, or simple muscle to get what we need. Lately that muscle has been disappearing, I’m sure you noticed the aggressive way the Station Security treats your kind.”
“Yeah, the charges they tried to stick my men with were downright asinine, never would have stuck.”
Another long blink. “Yes, but the Union doesn’t need to make them stick. You more than most should know that the Union will imprison individuals on suspect of a crime before an investigation can be done to assure innocence.”
Astarte almost heard a click in her head as she connected the dots. The charges had seemed absurd and unfounded, and she had wondered why they bothered. But the Union could, in cases of an extreme crime, arrest and imprison without a trial or evidence. It was one of the major ways the Unions legal system differed from the local laws of the Sol system.
Guilty until proven innocent. It was the precedent that had gotten her mother imprisoned when Aster was four. While they had arrested a terrorist responsible for thousands of deaths and billions in property damage, they didn’t actually have the evidence. And once the lack of evidence had been undeniably proven in a court room Lucile’s sentence was ended and her record expunged of the black mark after spending ten months in the prison on Parox.
Asters throat was tight “How many have been…”
“Thousands. Tens of thousands. I would like to give you a better number, but someone has done a remarkable job at obfuscating that information. People are arrested on petty misdemeanors, if any, and then prosecutors from the central office apply some grander crime. They’re taken to a holding facility, where they stay for a short time before a ship comes to take them to parts unknown.”
“And no one’s done anything about this?”
“Oh, no. There were plenty of riots. But shouting, screaming Deathworlders committing acts of arson and clashing Station Security did little to sway the public. And after the ADCU was born things got even worse for the Terrans.”
“Motherfuckers” Astarte growled through her teeth. She didn’t know where all those people went, but everything so far pointed to some sort of genocide. Unity was purging itself of its Deathworlder nuisance.
“Yes, as effective as the ADCU has been at rooting out actual criminal organizations they have also been a highly effective at smother discontent.”
“And what do you want me to do about it.”
Their head tilted to the side. “You already have an in road with one of their top Officers, one who is the personal protégé of Chief Gin.”
“Do you want me to see where they’re taking people, or figure out why?”
“Both if possible. This has all the odious whiffs of politics, and the League needs to know why the Union is making such bold moves. Any and all information you dig up will be appreciated.”
Astarte drummed her fingers on the desk as she worked through the problems. Something dangerous was happening in the heart of the Union. Something that threatened her own plans. She had idly wondered why Amaterasu had been so bold in making their terraforming equipment disappear, why openly slaughter an entire office of insurance investigators? But now she saw it was par for the course her, and she was only now noticing the rot.
The contacts request was also in her own best interest. She needed to know where this all led.
But you never took the first offer. That was just good business. “It seems to me that our own investigations might help you in yours. I don’t see why we can’t do both at once.”
Another long blink. “You won’t be overextending yourself?”
Aster scoffed “of course not.”
The amphibian’s permanent smile became a little wider, “good. Its always a pleasure working with a professional.”
The contact then reached under their desk to retrieve a small flash drive, preloaded with all the info Aster needed.
“Just a heads up” Aster said as she retrieved the flash drive. “Our plans usually end in chaos and bloodshed.”
“Oh, I know. I’m looking forward to it.” the contact said with a self-amused giggle like gurgling water.
Their business concluded Astarte stood to leave. But the door she entered through didn’t unlock itself. Instead a hidden panel Astarte hadn’t noticed during her scan slid open and revealed a hidden stairway.
Astarte blinked in surprise before shaking her head. never underestimate the Shadow League.
She walked through the door, and ascended several flight of stairs until she exited into the reception room of a small law firm. The Drohodron attendant nodded their furry rabbit like head and gestured towards the exit.
The ride home was mostly uneventful. A group of SS tried to tail her, but some speed walking and a sudden turn down an alley was all it took to shake them.
She left the tram station and entered the industrial district where her ship was moored. She had been so relaxed on her walk back that she even began to whistle a jaunty little tune. She almost mixed the gentle thump behind and slight rush of wind as a blade swept from behind her, nearly taking her head off.
She had only an instant to lean forward to avoid the strike. With the strike barely avoided she took one step forward before drawing Tenken in swinging overhead chop.
Two green tinted blades strapped to her attackers wrists rose into a crossed guard to catch her sword the two of them struggled against each other’s strength. Aster was surprised at the strength the assassin possessed.
They struggled for a few seconds before breaking apart just as swiftly as they had met.
They both took several steps back and began to size each other up.
The assassin was short, standing at maybe 160cm. Their tight-fitting clothes marked the assassin as both human and female. Two curved blades were attached to the assassins wrists, looking like the curved pincers of a praying mantis, which matched the mantis-like mask she wore.
The assassin despite her failed sneak attack, and their inconclusive clash, had the gall to look smug. “Glad to see you haven’t grown weak in our time apart, Daisey.” The assassin gurgled through a heavy voice filter.
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I’ll get straight to the point. I am a 27F and I’m in what feels like a shit load of debt and looking for some outside perspectives on the most logical next move. I am engaged getting married this fall and will include relevant spouse financial info. Excuse format as I am on mobile.
Income: $82,500 10% to 401k 2% stock After benefits and the above, take home is $1800 biweekly
Second job @ $17/hr 6-8 hours a week now increase to 20 hours a week during peak season in winter
Spouse makes $50k annual at full time job and $10-15k at second job. No debts aside from a recent 36 month personal loan of $25k at 8%. $800 monthly payment. Take home is $1400 biweekly from full time job, other job is seasonal with no income in summer months
Credit cards: $20k Cap One - ~$650 min payment - 29.99 % APR ($20k limit)
$12k Wells Fargo - ~$300 min payment - 15% APR ($15k limit)
$1800 Discover - $40 min payment - 0% APR until December 2023 ($2k limit)
Loans: $9,800 Best Egg - $520 monthly payment - 11.15 % APR (Feb 2025 pay off)
Car loan $6200 left - $150 monthly payment - will be paid off in 2026 - pay $100 month for insurance. Selling is not an option
~$70k in federal student loans (avg 4%) $12k private student loans (8%)
Other relevant info: Wedding is paid for Currently in school working on MBA reimbursed by company
Paying $130/month in medical debt, $600 left
Rent is $1575 total we split 50/50 + utilities/etc totals $2200 a month
I contribute $2k annual to Roth IRA currently sitting at $30k
Save $70/week to rainy day but I pull my Roth money from her each year I currently have $3k saved. Fiancé has $10k rainy day.
I’ve cancelled all frivolous expenses. We have the opportunity to move in with parents next year (summer) and with all bills and rent that should save us $2200 monthly minimum. With all my payments and expenses I use nearly $3500 of my $3600 monthly income not including second job income (starting this week)
Getting $5900 net bonus next week planned on paying off medical debt then throwing at capital one.
Thoughts? I will likely get a $8-10k raise by mid 2024 and fiancé will be getting $5-10 k raise this summer.
Edit to add I would love to have a child in 2025 but I’m worried about how to handle it all. Spouses parents are significantly older and we want to have kids before they’re too old. We would like to wait to buy a house until we have most of this under control and understand that means upwards of 5+ years

Work for a small production company, we have a handful of Mac Minis and UAD-2 Live Racks.
From what it looks like to me UA plugins are "system" based. Each system being the computer you connect the rack to. The issue is being a rental house, we don't always send the same computer out with the same rack. We also sometimes send 1, other times 2 out with a single computer.
Trying to make sure that all our plugins work no matter what system we send out.
I registered all the Racks to one Mac Mini, I then moved to a different Mac Mini and it looks like all the plugins are working on it, but if I go to the UA website with that Mac it shows a second system with no devices registered to it.
Have to go on site tomorrow to do some trouble shooting for a client and want to make sure I fully understand how their convoluted systems work and see if I need to bring this Mac with me as well.

I have been plagued with something that has been impacting my conscience for almost 3 years.
My In Laws, as a collective, are a pretty strange group of people. They pretend to be these upstanding, virtuous people, but in reality a lot of them are morally deficient and rather miserable.
I can go on for days to provide a backstory about how they attempted to make my life a living hell, but I’ll spare you the details and simply note that in recent months, we have made strides to make our relationship better.
I became privy to information that my brother in law was cheating on my sister in law a few years back. In fact, it came to my private attention, that he has even purchased a house with his mistress. We all (including his mistress) belong to a community where people have speculated that the two of them were having inappropriate relations, but nobody has ever been able to produce concrete evidence and when confronted about this, they both have vehemently denied.
However, I researched and found the deed to the property in which the 2 of them purchased on an online database. I told my husband as his sister is the one being cheated on, and he kinda shrugged his shoulders and said let’s not get involved. I thought this was a weird response but agreed and have been holding this in for 3 years. My conscience has been weighing heavy on me and while I do not want to get involved as I have not had the best relationship with them and fear that they would totally find a way to make me the villain as they gaslight me all the time. I wanted to at the very least share it with my sister in law from an anonymous email.
But then subconsciously I wonder what it would solve. My sister in law is a very weak, meek and interdependent person, who would never leave her husband. In fact, I wouldnt be totally surprised if she knew. What would hurt her the most is knowing that other people knows, as she is conscious of her image and portraying herself socially as close to perfect. So I wonder, if deep inside I only want to expose this due to my own revenge for how horribly they treated me in the past.
Is doing the “right thing” telling the truth? Or is doing the right thing, enabling somebody to continue to live in their fake fairytale?
Looking for advice